Coffee and the Unknown
by JessieWills
Summary: Third in the Coffee series! Rick has gone behind Kate's back to start the investigation into her mother's case- but what happens when secrets are burst open and cracks begin to appear both in the case and their marriage?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Remember me from the other two Coffee stories? Here's our new story and I'm hoping you enjoy this one just as much as you enjoyed Coffee and Scribbles and Coffee and Lost Hours! This story starts four months after the last chapter so Kate is working at the twelfth with Ryan and Esposito and our favourite writer has gone behind his wife's back about her mother's case and is waiting to hear back about whether there is any new information! There's our basic summary so we can now begin the newest journey in the Coffee series.**

"Alexis Castle if you're not down these stairs in the next two minutes we're going to leave you behind and we'll go on holiday without you" Kate called up the stairs before turning to see the writer standing patiently by the doorway watching her. "Are you okay?" she asked, noticing that this was around the fourth time that morning she'd caught him staring at her and he had been doing it more since she joined the twelfth. "You've been acting strangely recently Rick, you're starting to worry me" she admitted as he smiled at her before quickly moving towards her to gently press a kiss to her lips, silencing her as Alexis ran down the stairs and moaned at the sight of her parents kissing.

"Stop it" she squealed as Kate nodded and pulled her from her husband to look across at their daughter. "I'm ready mommy, I can come with you" the redhead cheered as she ran over and wrapped her arms around the brunette who laughed and nodded before leading her daughter out of the room as Rick followed in silence. He knew that Kate was beginning to notice that he was acting differently. He wasn't trying to act different but he couldn't help but look at her more and wonder about what she would say when she found out what he'd done; what he was doing to give their family the justice they needed. "We're going on holiday mommy, I can't wait to ride the bike you and daddy bought me" Alexis smiled as she stared up at Kate who nodded and quickly looked across to see the writer watching them with seriousness painted completely across his face.

"Rick are you sure you're okay?" Kate asked again as the writer nodded, concern covering her face before the elevator opened and the redhead began to pull her into the metal box. "Come on writer man, let's get going" she laughed as Rick walked in to join them before she leant across to gently press a kiss to his cheek. "You can tell me anything Rick, I promise" the brunette whispered into his ear before she moved away and smiled down at Alexis who was jumping up and down in excitement at the idea of finally having the family holiday they'd been planning since her birthday. "Sweetheart, stop jumping or you'll break the elevator and we won't go anywhere" Kate laughed as the writer smiled at the interaction between the two women in his life.

"Sorry mom" Alexis whispered as Kate shook her head and gently rested her hand on the redhead's shoulder for a moment. Watching the doors open, Kate beamed as Alexis ran out in excitement while both adults laughed at her enthusiasm. Following the redhead out of the box in silence, the writer sighed as he slowly wrapped his arm around his wife and held her close as they walked out of the building together; following Alexis closely as they approached the car they were taking to the cabin.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been completely with it recently Kate, it's just been with the next book and everything" he lied as she nodded slowly and smiled at him. "But I promise, this whole holiday I'm going to be completely yours and Alexis'. Nothing else is going to fill my mind but making you and Alexis happy" he explained as the brunette smiled and quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek before they approached the car where Alexis was patiently waiting in silence. "I know pumpkin, mommy and I are taking forever today" he declared as the redhead nodded and quickly climbed into the car the moment it was unlocked; all three of them excited about getting away from New York.

XOOXOXOXXOXOXO

"What are we going to do about sleeping arrangements Katie?" Rick asked as they drove towards the cabin while Alexis slept in the back of car peacefully after falling asleep from excitement twenty minutes into the journey.

"There is no way we're sleeping in the master bedroom Rick, it's my parent's room and I don't want to be in there especially when we're holiday and we you know, do more than sleep together" she admitted as he laughed and nodded, knowing that this was an awkward conversation for her. "Alexis can sleep in there and we'll camp out in my old room" the brunette declared as the writer groaned again. "What? We managed on our wedding night Rick" she whispered.

"Kate it was one night and we slept on the floor because we couldn't fit on the bed properly, you're really expecting us to do that for a whole week?" he smiled as she nodded slowly, remembering how perfect their wedding and honeymoon had been. "I guess it would be kind of cool Kate, the two of us camping out on the floor together" he declared as she stared at him for a moment as a small smile began to cover her face as she laughed gently. "I love you" he stated.

"I love you too" she beamed; glad to hear him saying it again. "Tell me what you're new book is about Rick" she begged as he groaned, realising that he didn't have much of a book to tell her about. "I want to know the characters and everything, I haven't read any notes this time and you always show me notes Rick" she whined, desperate to get an understanding of what had been pulling him away from her for months.

"I…" he began as confusion covered her face. "I want it to be a surprise for you this time, I'm going for a series Kate" he explained as she stared at him for a moment. "I want this book to be a surprise until it's finished and it's perfect and you can read it properly" he explained as the brunette nodded slowly, understanding the need for privacy that he wanted.

"Okay" she smiled before relaxing back and shutting her eyes. "I'm looking forward to this holiday Rick, I'm really looking forward to just spending time with you especially after how much of a nightmare work has been and with Alexis at school and you working on the next book; we haven't had family time for a long time" she admitted as he nodded in agreement, desperate to just be a decent father and husband again without the worry of the phone ringing telling him news on whether there was something new to try and investigate.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"I can't believe that Montgomery let you have a whole week off to spend with us Kate" he admitted as he moved towards the hammock she was lying on in the trees as she smiled at him and watched as he leant down and gently pressed a kiss to her lips as she stared up at him. "Alexis is reading her book on the swing so I'm all yours" he explained as Kate nodded, knowing that he was proud of how good Alexis' reading had improved over the past year. "I can't believe she's reading actual books Katie, she's seven years old Kate and she's sat there reading a book all by herself".

"She's your daughter Rick" Kate lightly commented before kissing him again and sighing as she ran her fingers through his hair as he smiled at her. "Come and cuddle with me" she whispered, laughing when he stared down at the hammock in horror. "Please" she mumbled; his head nodding as she turned onto her side and watched as he climbed on the hammock and relaxed back beside him. "You would tell me if something was wrong Rick" she whispered as he nodded slowly, hating that he was lying to her.

"Of course I would sweetheart" he mumbled, closing his eyes as she rested into his side and relaxed. "I love you so much Kate, I'm never going to stop loving you" he whispered as she smiled, keeping her eyes shut as she remained pressed against him.

"I love you too Rick. I love you too" she mumbled back before yawning.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Mommy, daddy can I ask you something important?" Alexis admitted as she sat down at the table and smiled as her parents brought the three plates of pasta over and rested one in front of her.

"Ask away pumpkin" Rick smiled as the redhead stared down at her dinner for a moment. "Alexis?" he asked as she stared up at them when they quickly sat down opposite her and smiled at her.

"When are you going to have a baby together?" Alexis blurted out as shock covered Kate's face quickly at the question.

"What sweetheart?" Kate asked as the writer bit his lip beside his wife, trying not to laugh at how quickly the horror had covered her face at the question.

"When are you going to have a baby together mommy?" the redhead repeated as Kate nodded slowly, trying to think of an answer. When were they going to have a baby together? It wasn't something they'd probably discussed and Alexis was throwing it at them at the most stupid time.

"I…" Kate began before she felt Rick find her hand under the table and squeeze it, silencing her as the writer looked across at his daughter.

"We haven't really thought about it pumpkin, it's not something we're thinking about at the moment" Rick admitted as Alexis nodded slowly. "Why did you ask?" the writer questioned as Alexis began to eat.

"Javi and Lanie asked me too" she shrugged as Kate groaned at the idea while the writer just laughed beside her.

**So what do you think? The story will become case filled later but I wanted us to have sweetness at the start! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and I will hear from you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed or put this on their alerts or favourites or just generally read the first chapter. I really hope you enjoy this story just as much as the others and continued to respond in such a positive way. Please continue to review, I love hearing from you because it's so amazing to know what you think. **

"Your hair has gone really weird Rick; did you go to sleep with it wet?" Kate laughed as she remained curled up in his arms as he stared at her for a moment before moving his hand up to touch his hair that was spiking up at various angles. Smiling at her, Rick relaxed as she leant up and gently pressed a kiss to his lips as his hands moved to rest on the small of her back. "I was thinking that we should make a day that we have to do something as a family unless there's something really important" she declared as the writer stared at her for a moment. "I know I get called away sometimes for work but I think we should try harder to do things together" she explained as Rick nodded and kissed her again.

"Maybe on a Friday night we could do a film night with pizza" Rick suggested as the brunette nodded and smiled up at him. "We could do different genres and have pizza and sleep in forts, it would be amazing for Alexis" he explained as Kate nodded and stared up at him as her fingers brushed across his cheek.

"That sounds perfect" Kate smiled before kissing him gently and sighing when they both heard the bedroom door open slowly. Turning her body quickly, Kate smiled as she saw Alexis watching them from the doorway in her pyjamas with her hair all over the place as she smiled at them. "Want to join the cuddle?" Kate asked as Alexis nodded and ran over, smiling as she crawled under the covers to rest beside Kate who quickly wrapped her arms around the little girl who smiled and buried her head against Kate's chest. "Are we going to play with your new bike today sweetheart?" Kate asked.

"Yes mom" the redhead cheered as Kate laughed and quickly pressed a kiss into Alexis's hair before she felt Rick move his hands to rest on her stomach as she laughed. "I'm going to go and get dressed now mom" Alexis commented before she climbed out of bed and quickly ran out of the room as Kate smiled and relaxed back as her eyes shut.

"You're perfect Kate" the writer said quickly before turning her in his arms and kissing her quickly as she smiled against his lips. "We should have a shower" he admitted as Kate nodded and climbed off the floor as the writer stared at her. "Kate I meant together, the two of us cleaning each other" he stated as she smiled down at him.

"I know you did, I'm just going to make our little girl something to eat and give her something to do before we go and have some fun in the shower" she explained as the writer nodded and stood up, watching as Kate walked out of the bedroom. Approaching the kitchen, Kate smiled as she found Alexis sat on the couch with her book; completely unaware that she was no longer alone in the room. "Is it a good book sweetheart?" Kate asked as Alexis continued to focus on the story. Laughing to herself, Kate sighed as she quickly made some toast for the redhead before entering the living room and kneeling down in front of her. "Little reader it's breakfast time" Kate declared as Alexis looked at her quickly before shutting the book.

"Is that for me?" Alexis asked as Kate nodded and laughed before passing the plate to the seven year old who accepted it with a large smile on her face. "Thanks mommy" she whispered as Kate stood up and sighed.

"Daddy and I are going to get ready so if you continue reading your book until we're out that would be amazing sweetheart" Kate smiled as Alexis nodded and began to eat her toast as Kate slowly left the room and approached the bathroom to find the door open and the writer starting the shower. "I am all yours Mr Castle" Kate declared as he smiled and walked towards her and gently pinned her against the door, shutting it with her body as she beamed up at him. "We can't Rick, she's right out there and she's wide awake" she muttered against his lips.

"Let's just make out in the shower then Kate" he declared, kissing her quickly as she felt his fingers pull her t-shirt up to remove it from his body. "I just want to be close to my wife again Kate, I just want to be close to you for a while on our own" he smiled as she nodded and removed her sweats before her hand found his and he led her into the shower.

XXOOOXOXOXOXXO

"Ready, steady, go" Kate screamed, laughing when the writer and his daughter quickly began to cycle down the hill, determined to beat each other. Watching the interaction between father and daughter, Kate laughed as she began to chase them down the hill; not knowing what else to do but ran after them while she continued to smile in excitement. Laughing as Rick purposely began to slow down, Kate smile when Alexis cycled across the line they'd crossed before Kate cheered and clapped in excitement.

"I won" Alexis cheered as she jumped off the bike and looked across at the brunette who was still clapping in excitement. "I won mommy, I won mommy" the redhead smiled as she ran over and tightly wrapped her arms around the cop who quickly leant down to press a kiss into her daughter's hair. "I beat daddy" the seven year old smiled.

"I saw Alexis, I saw you beat him sweetheart, I'm so proud of you beautiful" Kate declared, laughing when Rick ran over to join them, the two bikes thrown across the woodland path as she beamed at the small family they were.

"Congratulations Alexis, the right person won" Rick declared as his daughter smiled up at him before squealing when he lifted her into his arms. "Right, I'm going to go and make lunch for everyone" the writer smiled as he gently put his daughter down before moving towards the cabin. "What are you two going to do while I make lunch?" he asked as Kate stared down at the redhead who had moved closer to her.

"I think we'll go and play on our swing" Kate stated as the seven year old nodded and took hold of Kate's hand before sighing. "Lead the way Lexi" the brunette laughed as Alexis began to lead her away from the writer who continued to watch them in amusement, feeling like he was the luckiest man in the world as he entered the cabin to make lunch. Walking down the path with the redhead, Kate smiled as she continued to watch her daughter in amazement. Sitting down on the swing, Kate smiled as the redhead quickly joined her before they smiled at each other. "Are you having fun?" she asked quickly as Alexis nodded.

"Lots of fun mommy" the redhead admitted as Kate beamed at her, unable to take her eyes off the little girl. "Can we stay here forever?" Alexis questioned as confusion covered Kate's face. Was Alexis not happy at home? Was something going on that she didn't know about?

"Lex?" Kate said as concern filled her voice. "Is something going on that I should know about Lexi?" the brunette asked as Alexis shook her head at her mother's question.

"You and daddy seem happier here mom" she admitted as Kate shut her eyes, knowing that things had been perfect at home. "You cuddle and kiss more" she quickly added as the brunette nodded slowly, knowing things had been better since they'd come on holiday. "You're just you again" Alexis said, summing up everything perfectly as Kate leant down and gently pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair.

"Things are going to get better baby, I promise" Kate smiled as she began to move the swing gently. "Work just needs to calm down and your daddy needs to finish his book and then things will go back to normal" Kate said quietly, desperately hoping that it was true because she hated how awkward life with Rick had become.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"I'm going to go for a run" Kate admitted as she walked out of the bedroom pulling her hair back as the writer stared at her while Alexis sat on his lap reading her book silently. "I'll be back soon, I just need to have a run" she explained, kissing him gently before pressing a kiss into Alexis' hair. Watching as Kate left the cabin, Rick sighed as he stared at his daughter before he looked down at the book she was so fascinated by. He wanted to remember this! He wanted to remember what his little girl's first proper book was so when she was older and had children of her he could tell me them the first book that she'd read alone.

"Is your book good?" Rick asked as Alexis nodded and closed it before turning to look at her father. "Tell me about it" he explained as she sighed and relaxed back against him as she stared at the front cover for a moment before shaking her head. "You're not going to tell me about your book?" Rick asked as she shook her head again. "Fair enough" he stated before sighing. "Katie and I are thinking about having a movie night every Friday night, what do you think about that?" he questioned as the redhead beamed.

"Really daddy?" Alexis asked quickly as the writer nodded. "That sounds really cool" she admitted as Rick smiled and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"We'll watch loads of movies and have pizza and make a fort to sleep in" he explained as the seven year old nodded quickly, already enjoying the idea before they both heard a strange patter from outside.

"Daddy?" Alexis asked as she turned around to look out of the window to see rain pouring down outside. "Daddy, mommy's running in the rain" the redhead stated as Rick groaned, knowing that Kate wasn't going to give up running just because of the weather. "Isn't she going to get all wet doing that?" she asked as Rick nodded and laughed, turning around quickly to see Kate running towards the cabin. "Daddy, mommy's coming home" she said smiling as Rick stood up and walked towards the door to see his wife running towards them.

"It's freezing" she laughed as he looked down at the way her clothes were sticking to her body. "I'm just going to go and change quickly" she explained, pressing a kiss to his cheek before she smiled at Alexis and ran down the corridor. Reappearing a few minutes later in a pair of sweats and one of Rick's shirts, Kate smiled as she quickly joined the two people on the couch and cuddled into her husband's side as he tightly wrapped an arm around her.

"Your hair is going to go all big" he said quietly as Kate laughed against him and nodded. "I love your hair when it gets all big and curly" he admitted as she rolled her eyes at his comment before leaning up and kissing him again as Alexis moaned beside them. "Pumpkin why don't you put a movie on for us? You get to choose" Rick suggested as Alexis nodded and quickly moved towards the television while the writer pulled Kate onto his lap and kissed her again. "I was worried that you'd continue to try and run in this weather" he whispered as she shrugged.

"I was going too and then I thought, what's the point of making myself ill?" she said proudly as he nodded and kissed her again, knowing that he needed to tone down his actions while Alexis was in the room. "You're very touchy tonight writer man" she observed as she felt his hand move to rest under the back of the shirt was she was wearing. Opening his mouth to answer, Rick quickly shook his head as Alexis jumped onto the couch beside them as her movie began to play on the television screen. "I love this movie Lex" Kate admitted as she looked across at the little girl who smiled happily at Kate's admittance before focusing completely on her chosen movie. "And I love you" Kate said gently against Rick's neck as she cuddled up against him, enjoying the warmth and comfort his arms gave her.

"I love you too Kate, I love you so much" Rick whispered into her hair before staring across at the television, knowing that both his wife and daughter were completely fascinated by the movie that was now playing.

**Okay I'm just going to say this now and don't be angry with me for it but I'm not a professional writer! I'm English, I'm seventeen and I'm sorry that my work is completely perfect! I write because I love the show and I love to create stories and give some people some enjoyment so I'm sorry if my story has parts wrong with it because I'm English and not American or because I use words too much! I'm sorry but if it really annoys you then stop reading and find someone who does write better than me! **

**Sorry for the rant but I felt like it was needed. **


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming to see us" Kate laughed as she ran out of the cabin and quickly wrapped her arms around Lanie's neck as the medical student laughed and hugged her friend quickly. Looking across at Javier and Kevin, Kate smiled at the sight of her friends while remaining amazed at their presence. "Lex is going to be so happy to see you" Kate admitted, not surprised at the sound of a familiar squeal before Alexis ran past her and jumped into Javier's arms who laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Hey crazy person" Javier laughed as Alexis beamed up at him.

"I need to have a word with you two" Kate declared quickly, looking across from Lanie to Javier whose smiles disappeared from their faces at the sound of her voice. "The next time you want to know something like when Rick and I are going to have a baby, ask us yourselves, don't get Alexis to do it" the brunette stated as the couple looked across at each other before looking down at their feet while Kevin and Alexis laughed at them both. "Where's Jenny today then Kevin?" Kate asked as Javier put Alexis down and watched as the redhead disappeared inside the cabin.

"She's seeing family today but she's sorry that she can't be here, she really wanted to come and see you" Kevin admitted as the brunette nodded, already noticing that the other cop looked slightly miserable at the idea of his girlfriend not being present. Hearing footsteps behind her, Kate quickly turned to see Alexis leading the writer out of the cabin. "Hey Rick" Kevin beamed as the writer smiled at the visitors as his arm wrapped around Kate's hips.

"I was telling Lanie and Javi that the next time they want to ask us something personal like when we're going to make little Castle babies then they have to come straight to us and not go to Alexis first" Kate explained as the writer nodded and pressed a kiss into his wife's hair as Lanie smiled at their actions. "So you invited everyone to come and see us?" Kate whispered in his ear before she gently pressed a kiss to her cheek as she relaxed against his side.

"I thought a barbecue would be nice" he admitted as she nodded and smiled across at their friends. "Just us and our friends, I did invite mother and your dad but they're both busy so they couldn't make it today" he explained as Kate quickly moved out of his arms and looked across at Lanie who watched for a moment before looking across at the writer quickly.

"Kate, can we go talk somewhere private?" Lanie asked, guessing that the brunette wanted to talk about something important. Nodding, Kate flashed a smile at her husband before walking away from the group of people while Lanie followed her. Staring at the engraved tree for a moment, Kate shut her eyes as she ran her fingers across hers and Rick's initials as Lanie continued to watch her in silence. "Things with Rick still weird?" the medical student asked as Kate shook her head and turned to look at her friend.

"No Lanie, everything seems perfect here. It all seems wonderful and like it used to be like Lanie and I'm scared that we'll go back to New York and everything will be awkward again" Kate admitted as she sat down on the ground and stared up at her friend who was silently watching her. "He says it's because he's writing the new book but he never was like that with the last one" Kate said miserably as Lanie sighed and moved to sit beside her friend.

"Kate, I'm sure things are going to get better" Lanie smiled as Kate nodded slowly, bringing her arms up to wrap around her knees as Lanie watched her. "I'm sure he has a good reason, for all you know he's doing something special for you and doesn't want you to know yet" the medical student suggested as Kate laughed at the idea.

"I hate surprises Lanie, I really hate surprises Lanie. They make me stupidly paranoid and I hate feeling like this" Kate declared as she began to relax back against the tree, knowing that it was just like Rick to plan something and not tell her about it. "I want my husband back Lanie, I just want him back in New York like he is here Lanie" she whispered as she stared down in the direction of the cabin. "We cuddle on the couch together and we hold hands and laugh and have fun" she listed as the medical student continued to watch her. "Things in New York are so stupidly awkward at the moment".

"What's happening Kate? I know things have been difficult but you haven't told me anything more than that" Lanie stated as the brunette stared down at her wedding ring.

"He's always in his office working, he locks the door when he's in there and he never normally does that, he plays loud music a lot when he's on the phone. He doesn't come to bed until I'm sleep and he's usually out of bed when I wake up in the morning" Kate explained as Lanie stared at her shock, amazed at how the couple's relationship had changed in the past few months. "I miss the Rick who's come back to me here, I miss the Rick who never wants me out of his arms and kisses me all the time and tells me stupid things that make me laugh" she muttered as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Maybe he is working on a new book and this one's harder to write Kate?" Lanie suggested as Kate shook her head, knowing that everything was going crazy in her head. "Kate…" she whispered.

"I know he's not working on a book Lanie because the publisher's been calling me at work asking why Rick hasn't met any deadlines recently" she sobbed as shock covered Lanie's face. "I know that sometimes he forgets to send the chapters to the publisher but he hasn't even heard of any of the ideas Lanie. He called me yesterday to ask me to ask Rick to send a copy of the plan to prove that there was at least some form of a book going on and that just made me realise that he can't be writing anything" she sobbed. "I've been trying to convince myself that everything was perfect, I was trying to tell myself that he was writing this book and everything was going to be okay once he's finished it but he hasn't even started one Lanie" she declared as tears ran down her cheeks while the medical student tightly wrapped her arm around her friend, knowing that she needed someone.

XOXOXOXXXOXO

"You okay?" Rick asked as he approached his wife who was quietly watching her three friends and daughter focus on the board game they'd chosen to play. "Kate?" he whispered, laughing when she jolted in shock and looked up at him, a small smile covering her face before she leant up and kissed him gently.

"Will you tell me about the new book Rick? Just give me a little snippet of something that's going to happen" she asked as confusion covered his face.

"Kate, I told you that I wanted to keep it a surprise until it's finished" he declared, wondering why she'd decided to bring up the issue now when it hadn't seemed to bother her since she'd said it. "Are you sure you're okay?" he whispered as she nodded slowly, knowing that she wasn't. She was angry about him lying to her again even though she'd presented him with opportunities to be honest and she was worried, worried for the marriage she desperately wanted to stay in. She loved her husband and she didn't want to lose him, she couldn't lose him! "Kate, do you want to go and talk about it somewhere?" the writer asked quickly as she nodded, desperate to blurt it all out and make him tell her.

"Dad, come and play with us" Alexis declared as she turned around to look at her parents who were sat on opposite sides of the couch. "Mom come and play with us too" she added as both her parents moved off the couch to join everyone on the floor. Looking across at how awkward the couple were being, Javier quickly moved closer to his girlfriend who was laughing at Kevin's next move on the game.

"What's going on with Mr and Mrs?" Javier whispered to the medical student who sighed and shook her head, knowing that she couldn't discuss it with him here. "Is it bad?" the cop asked gently, not wanting Kate and Rick to hear him. Watching as Lanie nodded slowly, Javier sighed as he looked across at the couple, amazed to see how much they'd changed recently.

XOXOXOXXOXOXO

"This looks amazing" Kate commented as she walked out and stared at the food the three men were preparing together on the barbecue. Turning his head to smile at his wife, Rick watched her for a moment as she continued to stare at the food they were preparing. Feeling someone's arms wrap around her hips, Kate smiled as she looked down to see Alexis staring up at her. "Why don't you go and get your book sweetheart?" the brunette suggested as the seven year old quickly shook her head. "Why not beautiful?" she asked quickly.

"I finished my book" Alexis said proudly as Kate nodded and ran her hand across Alexis' shoulder as Rick watched proudly. "I have nothing new to read now mom and I'm bored" she moaned as Kate laughed, seeing the similarities between father and daughter by their increasing love of reading.

"I'm sure we can find you a book somewhere pumpkin" Rick laughed as he continued to cook while Alexis quickly nodded and disappeared into the house, probably in search of another book to read.

"Has she really finished a book?" Javier asked in amazement. "By herself?" he asked as Kate nodded, smiling proudly at the idea of it. Their little girl was growing up and it seemed like it was happening so quickly. "Wow, she's growing up so fast" the cop declared as both Kate and Rick silently nodded, completely aware of the fact. "Soon she'll be reading your novels Rick, you'll be unable to stop her" the cop teased as Rick shook his head.

"Defiantly not" Rick stated as everyone laughed at his comment. "I'm not letting Alexis near any novels that are to do with sex, I'm going to check them all before she reads them to make sure they're suitable. She is going to remain perfectly innocent until she's married" the writer explained as Kate rolled her eyes at him before forcing a smile on her face before Alexis ran back out to join them.

"One day you won't be able to stop her Rick, she'll meet a boy and all your plans of innocent will be gone" Kevin stated as Rick glared across at him before smiling at his daughter who was stood beside Kate with confusion covering her face.

"What's daddy talking about?" Alexis asked quickly as Kate shook her head.

"Nothing you need to worry about sweetheart, daddy and Kevin are being silly" Kate stated as she tightly wrapped her arms around her daughter before smiling. "Daddy's just being silly" the brunette explained as she pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair and sighed. "Why don't you go and play on the swing for a minute?" she whispered as Alexis nodded and ran off. "Are you staying tonight?" Kate asked as she looked across at their three friends, desperately hoping they'd be staying for the rest of the night.

"We can't, we're working tomorrow Kate" Javier admitted as he looked across at Kevin who nodded slowly, both men noticing the look of sadness that began to cover Kate's face at their answer. "Kate…" he whispered as she forced a smile onto her face and nodded, understanding that they had to work.

"Is everything okay Katie?" Rick asked quickly as he stared at his wife who nodded and moved towards him before gently pressing a kiss to his lips before pulling away and walking towards the swing in silence. "I think I'm losing her" Rick whispered as everyone fell silent around the barbecue.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"We come back in two days, I'll come and see you then" Rick declared as Kate stood in the doorway, listening to the conversation that Rick was having. See you soon? They'd be back in two days? What was going on with Rick? "I'll come to yours, you can't come to mine Kate will be home then" the writer explained as Kate bit into her lip, her eyes shutting as she thought about all the possibilities while her mind only went to one option. The one option she'd always been afraid of since she'd met him- Rick had found someone else.


	4. Chapter 4

"Right we're about to…" Javier began as he entered Kate's old bedroom to find the brunette throwing clothes in a bag while tears ran down her cheeks. "Kate? What's wrong?" he asked, watching as she stopped throwing her things into the bag before she turned and quickly wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his shoulder. "What's wrong?" he whispered to her as she shook her head and remained in his arms as she continued to sob.

"Can I come home with you tonight?" she asked as the cop nodded slowly and watched as he moved away to grab her bag and throw it over her shoulder. "Can we go now? I need to get out of here, I need to go home" she muttered as he nodded again, not knowing what to say as she began to walk out of the room to see Rick and Kevin joking about something while Lanie hugged Alexis goodbye.

"Are we ready to go?" Javier asked as Rick turned to look at them to see the tears running down her cheeks and her bag thrown across her shoulder. Walking towards Alexis slowly, Kate quickly lifted the redhead into her arms before pressing a kiss to her cheek and holding her close for a moment.

"I'll see you soon sweetheart, be good for daddy" Kate whispered as confusion covered Alexis' face. What was she saying? Where was she going?

"Where are you going mommy?" the redhead asked as Kate shut her eyes for a minute.

"I'm going back to New York sweetheart" the brunette admitted as shock covered Alexis' face before she tightly wrapped her arms around Kate's neck, not wanting to let her go. "Lex, you need to let go, it's almost bedtime and if you go now you'll still have time for daddy to read you a goodnight story" she whispered as the redhead clung onto her tighter, desperately wanting to keep Kate with her.

"Kate? What's going on?" Rick asked as he walked towards him and moved to rest his hand in her shoulder, amazement covering his face as she took a step away from him. "Kate?" he asked, his voice almost silent as the three other adults continued to watch the interaction.

"Don't touch me" she hissed as shock covered Rick's face. Putting Alexis down, Kate sighed as she pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair before standing up and looking across at her colleagues and friend. "Can we go now?" she asked quickly as Javier nodded and smiled weakly at the brunette who began to walk towards the door.

"Kate what's going on?" Rick asked as he began to walk after her. "Kate? Please just tell me what's going on so I can fix it?" the writer declared as Kate stopped suddenly and turned to look at him as tears filled her eyes.

"Fix it? I've given you a hundred opportunities to fix it Rick. I've given you a hundred chances to tell me the truth and you haven't changed your story once" she declared as confusion covered his face. "There is no book Rick, your publisher has called me a hundred times telling me that you've not written anything and I heard you on the phone, I know there's someone else so you can stop lying to me and go back to your other woman" she screamed as the writer felt the horror cover his face as shock covered everyone else's. Pulling the two rings off her finger, Kate glared down at them for a moment before throwing them at the writer as shock covered Lanie's face at the action. "It's over Richard" she stated before walking towards the front door as Alexis chased after her.

"Mommy please don't leave us" Alexis sobbed as she ran over to Kate and tightly wrapped her arms around the brunette who felt the tears run down her cheeks. "Let me come with you, I want to come with you mommy" Alexis sobbed as Kate shut her eyes to stop herself from crying. "Mommy please don't go" she whispered in tears as Kate slowly lifted her into her arms and held her for a moment as Lanie, Javier and Kevin began to walk towards them.

"I can't believe you did that" Lanie declared in shock as she glared at her boyfriend. "You didn't need to hit the man, he might have deserved it but he's bleeding now Javi" the medical student as Javier watched the brunette hold Alexis in her arms as everyone fell silent.

"Baby you need to stay with daddy, you need to stay with him here" Kate whispered to Alexis who shook her head. "He needs someone to look after him" she declared as Alexis' arms tightened around her neck, desperately trying to keep her with them.

"Why can't you stay with us mommy? Why can't you look after him?" she asked as Kate sighed and pressed a kiss to Alexis' forehead as the front door slammed open.

"Kate please just give me a minute to explain everything" Rick called out as Kate quickly knelt down and put Alexis down as tears ran down both their cheeks. "Kate we need to talk about this, you've got everything wrong" the writer announced as Javier turned around to look at him to see the blood running down from his lip from where he'd hit him a minute ago.

"You need to go to your daddy baby" Kate whispered as the redhead continued to shake her head. "Lexi please" she begged as Alexis continued to cry. "I love you beautiful".

"Kate I'm not seeing anyone else, I swear" Rick announced as Kate opened the car door and looked down at her daughter to see Alexis staring up at her. "Kate I promise, there's no one else" he said quickly, practically begging now for her to believe him.

"Rick for god's sake, leave her alone, she doesn't need to hear any more of your lies" Lanie hissed before she looked across at her friend who had climbed into the car and was now sobbing as Alexis stood beside the door in tears, staring up at her mother. "Come on sweetheart, go over to your daddy, you need to go to bed now" the medical student attempted to soothe as she rested her hand on Alexis' shoulder as the redhead shook her head.

"I want mommy" she sobbed as Kate continued to look down, hating herself for making Alexis cry. "I want my mommy" she sobbed as Rick began to walk towards them. Reaching down for his daughter, Rick remained shock as she pushed away from him and glared up at him. "I want mommy, not you! You made mommy cry" she hissed as Rick looked into the car to see Kate sobbing as she listened to everything.

"Go with mommy" Rick muttered as both Kate and Alexis fell silent at what he'd said. "You need to look after mommy for me sweetheart, okay? You need to make sure that she's okay sweetheart and that nothing happens to her" he advised as Alexis nodded slowly. "I love you baby and I love mommy even though she doesn't believe me at the moment sweetheart" he declared as Alexis wrapped her arms around him. "Go on, look after mommy for me" he smiled as Alexis moved out of his arms and quickly opened the car door to climb onto Kate's lap. Watching as everyone climbed into the car, Rick sighed as he continued to cling onto the rings that Kate had thrown at him earlier. "Kate please, I'm not seeing someone else I promise" he begged as the brunette turned to look to him with tears in her eyes. "I'll call in a couple of days Kate, let you calm down" he explained as the brunette continued to remain silent as she tightened her arms around her daughter as Rick watched them.

"Bye daddy" Alexis whispered as she waved to him before Kevin began to drive away from the cabin.

"Want to tell us what's going on Kate?" Lanie asked as she turned to look at her friend as Kate shook her head and looked across at Javier who was sitting in the back with her car with worry covering his face as he continued to watch her. "Are you going to stay at the loft?" the medical student asked as Kate shrugged, not sure she wanted to go there.

"I don't know" Kate admitted as she laced her fingers with Alexis'.

"You can stay with me" Javier stated as Kate smiled weakly. "I have a spare room, if you don't mind sharing with Lex" the cop explained as Kate shook her head and pressed a kiss into her daughter's head.

"We don't mind sharing" Kate muttered as she held the little girl close to her for a moment. "I love you beautiful, I love you so much" the brunette whispered, still amazed that Rick had allowed the seven year old to come back to New York with her. "I love you my beautiful girl" she declared as the redhead yawned and cuddled into her side, everyone knowing that the seven year old was up later than she normally was. "Get some sleep, I'll wake you up when we get to Javi's" she whispered as Alexis nodded.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Wow! This is your apartment then" Kate commented as entered Javier's apartment with Alexis asleep in her arms as she smiled. "Where's the spare room? I should put her down" the brunette admitted as Javier nodded and pointed down to one specific room as she smiled at him and quickly approached the room. Pushing the door open, Kate sighed as she approached the bed and rested the redhead on it before leaning down and removing Alexis' shoes. "I'll come to bed in a while sweetheart" Kate whispered before she pressed a kiss to Alexis' head and left the room to see Javier standing in the kitchen.

"Fast asleep?" he asked as she nodded and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" the cop asked as she sighed and smiled as he passed her a mug of tea and smiled as she moved towards the couch and sat down. "Come on, I promise not to say anything until you're finished" he explained as Kate nodded and sighed.

"I heard him on the phone Javi and he was telling whoever it was that we would be home in two days and that they couldn't come round the house because I was going to be there and he would go to their home instead" she admitted as he sighed and wrapped an arm around her as she sighed and shut her eyes. "And he's been lying to me all the time, he's been telling me that he's working on this book and he's not" she sighed as he tightened his arm around her and held her close as she relaxed. "I should go to bed" she admitted as he nodded. "Thank you for looking after us Javi".

"Kate you're like my sister, I'd do anything to make sure you're happy" he declared, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she smiled and nodded before saying goodnight and walking towards his spare bedroom. Entering the room, Kate smiled as she walked towards Alexis who was lying in bed wide awake.

"What are you doing up sweetheart? You should be asleep" Kate whispered as she sat down and smiled at the redhead who was still staring at her. "Are your jeans uncomfortable?" she asked as the redhead nodded and watched as Kate quickly opened her bag and pulled out of her t-shirts. "It's going to be so big on you but it'll do for tonight" she explained as Alexis nodded and climbed off the bed before quickly changing into the t-shirt Kate had given her. Disappearing into Esposito's bathroom for a few minutes, Kate quickly reappeared in the room in her pyjamas and smiled at the small girl who was staring at her. "Are you angry with me?" she asked.

"I'm angry with daddy for making you cry mommy" Alexis admitted as Kate slid into the bed beside her before tightly wrapping her arms around the redhead. "You won't leave me will you mommy?" Alexis asked as Kate nodded and pressed a kiss to the seven year olds forehead.

"I will never leave you sweetheart" Kate muttered as Alexis rested her head against Kate's chest. "I won't ever leave you I promise".

**I hated writing this chapter because it's so different to the other two stories have been! Honestly, I had so many ideas running through my head but this seemed to work so hopefully you enjoy it (even if you want to kill me) and review because I love hearing from you, even when you're angry at the imaginative part of my brain. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your amazing reviews, I love hearing from you and I know this story is so negative at the moment but it will get better I promise! Anyway, please stick with me, I promise there will be more happy moments in the future! **

"Kate" Rick screamed as he knocked against Javier's door, desperate to hear some response from her. "Kate I know you're there, my mother told me" he announced, his fist hitting harder against the wood as he felt the last bit of patience he had disappear from him. "Katherine Castle, you married me for better and for worse and I promise that there's no one else in my life! I'm not seeing anyone, I just need to explain to you what's going on" he begged, his forehead resting against the door as he groaned. She wasn't going to talk to him and he could understand that. Looking back at his behaviour and everything he'd said and done over the past few months, it was obvious where she could have got the idea from. "I really do love you Kate, you're everything to me" he whispered against the door, unaware that Kate was listening from the other side of the door.

"I love you too Rick" Kate mumbled back before she took a step away from the door and stared at it for a moment as Alexis ran over and wrapped her arms around Kate's hips as she stared up at the brunette. "Hey sweetheart, did you sleep well?" Kate smiled as she leant down and pressed a kiss to Kate's forehead while the seven year old nodded quickly.

"Is daddy still outside?" Alexis asked, knowing that her father had been screaming outside only a few minutes ago. Nodding her head slowly, Kate sighed as she lifted the seven year old into her arms before approaching the door. "Do you want me to unlock it for you mommy?" the redhead asked as Kate nodded quickly and watched as the seven year old unlocked the door and pulled it open to reveal the writer who was standing there in silence. "Daddy" Alexis smiled gently before she moved out of Kate's arms and wrapped her arms around her father as Kate smiled weakly at them.

"Hey" Rick smiled as he leant down and pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead. "I missed you so much pumpkin, I've really missed you Lexi" the writer admitted before he looked up and stared at the brunette who was dressed in her pyjamas with her hair tied back in a messy ponytail. "And I've missed your mommy too, I just want you to come home to us" he added as Kate wrapped her arms around her chest and moved away from the door as Javier walked out of his bedroom and stared at the brunette.

"Everything okay Kate?" Javier asked as he watched the writer walk into the apartment, holding onto Alexis' hand as the cop stared at the brunette. "What's he doing here?" Javier hissed as he glared across at the writer who stood silently in the living room.

"Javi, why don't you take Alexis to the park for an hour?" Kate suggested as she smiled down at her daughter who quickly ran off to get changed.

"Kate, I thought you…" Javier began as the brunette walked towards him and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck as Rick watched in silence. "What's going on Kate?" the cop asked as Kate smiled. "You threw your rings at him, you walked out on him and now you're…" he began as she nodded slowly and stared up at him.

"I just want to talk to him about everything. I need to know what's going on from his side of the story Javi" she whispered as he nodded and watched as Alexis ran over and grabbed his hand quickly before laughing and dragging him towards the door. "Have fun you two, I'll make you something to eat for when you get back" Kate smiled as Javi rolled his eyes at her before grabbing Alexis' jacket and walking out of the apartment. Looking across at the writer, Kate sighed as she moved towards Javier's couch and sat down. "You have until Javi gets home Rick" she stated as the writer began to pace up and down the room.

"I swear to you, I'm not seeing anyone else Katie" Rick declared as she looked up at him. "You're everything to me Kate; I married you because I wanted to spend my life with the love of my life not because I wanted you there when I couldn't find anyone else" he explained as he knelt down in front of the couch and took hold of her hand, resting her rings into her hand as bit into her lip and watched him for a moment. "Katie please, I promise I'm not seeing anyone else" he begged as she sighed and took hold of her rings. "I swear on Alexis' life that I'm not seeing anyone else" he stated as she smiled and nodded, her finger moving to slide the rings onto her finger as she laughed gently, not realising how much she'd missed them.

"What's going on then?" she asked as he shut his eyes and rested his head against her knees. "I need to know Rick, I'm tired of the fighting and the feeling alone" she admitted as she ran her fingers through his hair as he remained silent. "When we got married we promised no secrets Rick, we promised that we'd be honest to each other" she whispered as she leant down and pressed a kiss into his hair as tears ran down her cheeks. "Tell me please" she begged.

"I'm investigating her murder Kate" he whispered as her body tensed. Looking up at her, he watched the shock that was covering her face as she continued to stare at him. "I'm still looking at her case Kate, I haven't stopped Kate" he declared as she shook her head, unable to decide whether this was worse than their being someone else!

**So what do you think? **


	6. Chapter 6

"You're what?" Kate asked as she stared down at the writer after a few moments of silence. "You're still looking into her case?" the brunette questioned as he nodded slowly and remained perfectly still in front of her; desperately hoping that she wouldn't leave him again. He'd already felt how painful it was when Kate threw her wedding and engagement rings at him before storming out of the apartment and practically out of his life for the first time. "You're doing what Rick?" she asked again, desperate to hear him say something that wasn't what he'd just said to her.

"I'm investigating your mom's case; I've given the file to someone called Dr Clark Murry and he's found things Kate" he stated as she shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair before tears ran down her cheeks. She'd told him no! She'd told him that investigating her mother's murder was over so she could be the wife and mother that she'd wanted to be and she clearly thought that if she wasn't investigating it neither would he. "Do something Kate- hit me, shout at me, just do something. I can't sit in silence again" he begged as she stood up and walked towards the window as she continued to silently cry. "I know it was wrong but I was doing it for you" he declared as she shook her head.

"Rick, I wanted this over! I wanted to stop so I could be there for you and Alexis" she stated as she turned to look at him. "You're doing this for yourself because you can't resist the mystery, you can't resist finding the clues and solving her murder and being the hero" she hissed as she continued to watch him, knowing that deep down that even though she was furious with him, she loved him more than anything.

"I'm not doing this for the mystery Kate, I'm doing this for you" he stated as he stood up and walked towards her, not touching her because he knew he couldn't invade her space right now. "I'm doing it to give you the closure you want, I know that you want this to be over Katie" he explained as he took another step towards her and watched her as silent tears continued to run down her cheeks. "I just want everything to be perfect Katie, I want you to have that fairy tale future Katie" he whispered as she shut her eyes and allowed him to wrap his arms around her as she felt the tears run down her cheeks. "I want you to have the perfect life, I know you want the answers Kate and I just wanted to give them to you" he explained.

"Rick please" she begged as she looked up at him. "You have to stop" she whispered as he watched her. "You need to stop doing this; you need to stop before you go too far. We have a future together Rick, we have a daughter and a life together and I can't lose you to her case" she begged before leaning up and brushing her lips against his cheek. "I gave it up to be a wife and mother, you need to give it up to be a husband and father" she muttered before he nodded.

"Come home with me" he begged as he entwined his fingers with her as she smiled gently, unable to stop the tears that were still running down her cheeks. "Come home with me today" he begged as she rested her head against his chest, not knowing what to say. She felt betrayed, she felt angry and she felt lost but she still loved him and she still wanted to spend her life with him! "We can go home with Alexis comes back, the three of us back at the loft where we belong Katie" he whispered into her hair as she remained silent and nodded, knowing that Alexis missed her father. "I've missed you" he muttered as she stood still in his arms.

"I've missed you too" she admitted as she looked up at him. "Promise me you'll stop" she declared, her eyes locking with his as he nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead before she leant up and pressed her lips against his. "Tell me that you promise Rick" she begged, needing to hear him say it.

"I promise Katie, I'm not going to look into it anymore" Rick stated as she smiled weakly and nodded, watching as the front door creaked open and Alexis ran towards them. "Hey pumpkin, did you have fun?" the writer smiled as he lifted the redhead into his arms and laughed when the seven year old wrapped her arms around him and looked at him for a moment.

"Are you and mommy still fighting daddy?" she asked as Rick looked across at the cop who was smiling across at Alexis. Walking towards the redhead, Kate smiled as she quickly pressed a kiss to her daughter's cheek before smiling.

"Daddy and I aren't fighting anymore sweetheart" Kate whispered as the seven year old squealed in excitement while Javier entered his apartment and stared across at the couple who were laughing over Alexis' excitement. "Javi, you can have Lanie back round again, we're going home" Kate smiled as the cop nodded slowly and stared at the writer who remained silent. "Javi, he wasn't cheating on me" she stated as the cop nodded.

"What was he doing?" Javier asked.

"Something stupid that he regrets and will never do again" Kate stated as the writer nodded behind her, knowing that he had a lot to do before their friends forgave him. "I'll be fine Javi, I trust him" she stated as the cop nodded and watched as the brunette looked across at Rick and smiled. "I'm going to go and grab my stuff and then we can go" she explained as the writer nodded and watched as she disappeared into Javier's spare room.

"Richard" Javier stated as the writer turned to face him and nodded. "You ever hurt her like that again and I will kill you" the cop announced before disappearing into another room as Rick looked down at his daughter who was silent in his arms.

"He doesn't like you very much daddy" Alexis stated as the writer nodded, knowing that Javier was going to be the hardest to convince.

XOOXOXOXXO

"Oh thank god you're home" Martha declared as she walked towards the young woman and quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter in law as the brunette relaxed; enjoying the safety of the older woman's arms. "When Richard told me what happened" Martha began before shaking her head and smiling down at the younger woman. "I'm just glad you're home darling" the redhead stated, her lips gently pressing a kiss to Kate's forehead before the brunette nodded and moved away to look across at the writer who was standing with Alexis in silence. "Don't ever do anything that stupid again Richard" Martha warned as Kate nodded in agreement and watched as the writer smiled.

"Mother, this experience has taught me that I never want Kate to leave me again" he explained as Kate nodded and quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek before smiling weakly and sighing. "Mother could you take Alexis out with you today?" Rick asked as the redhead nodded and smiled down at her granddaughter who was stood patiently beside her father.

"Come on Alexis, you can watch my rehearsal from the box if you like" Martha suggested as Alexis nodded and quickly took hold of her grandmother's hand before waving goodbye to Kate and Rick and leaving the apartment with her silent grandmother.

"Rick" Kate whispered as she slowly allowed him to take hold of her hand. "I love you so much" she mumbled as his arms tightly wrapped around her, holding her close to him as she buried her face into his shoulder to stop herself from crying. "Make love to me" she muttered as confusion covered his face. "Make love to me, make everything go away again Rick" she begged as he nodded and began to lead her towards their bedroom.

XOXOOXXOXOXO

"I cried the first night I left you" she admitted as she rested her head against his chest and drew patterns on his bare skin with her finger. "Alexis was curled up beside me asleep and I cried because I couldn't imagine a life without you" she whispered as the writer nodded and slowly ran his fingers through her dark hair. "I was so scared that you'd met someone else; someone gorgeous and funny who you couldn't take your eyes off" she admitted.

"Kate you're the gorgeous and funny woman in my life who I can't take my eyes off" Rick stated as he leant down and quickly pressed a kiss into her hair. "I don't want anyone else, I swear to you" he promised as she nodded and quickly leant up to steal the kiss that she wanted. "You're my one and done Kate, like you're mine" he smiled as she nodded and relaxed back, keeping her head on his chest as his fingers rested against her shoulder; gently massaging it every few minutes.

"When I heard that phone call, I was terrified that we were over" she admitted, wanting to get all her feelings out. She needed to be honest with him; she needed their relationship to be based on honesty, not on lies like their marriage had started. "I wanted to kill you for cheating on me, I wanted to hurt you so much" she explained as the writer remained silent, listening to everything she was saying. "And when Alexis started crying and begging to come with me, I hated myself more than anything because I was destroying our family even though you were the one who was…" she began.

"I know Kate, I know this was my fault and I'm going to make it better" he explained before pressing a kiss into her hair. "But it's over now and we'll get better, we'll be us again before we know it Katie" he declared as she smiled weakly before looking up at him and sighing. "I'm never going to put us in that position again".

"I know" she muttered as she stared at him. "Because if you break this promise Rick, I will leave you without a second's thought" she declared before relaxing back in the space beside him as their hands met underneath the blanket. "Don't break my trust again Rick, I can't deal with that pain again" she admitted as the writer nodded, knowing that he was lucky that Kate accepted him in her life again after everything he'd done.

**Happy now? **


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is set about a month after the last one and I hope you enjoy it! **

Climbing out of bed, Rick groaned as he found himself staring down at the empty space beside him before looking across at the clock to see that it was the stupid time of two o'clock in the morning. Cursing under his breath, Rick sighed as he climbed out of bed and walked towards the door; his brain running on autopilot as he left the comfort of his bedroom and began to approach the living room. He'd done the same routine now for almost a weak where Kate had always disappeared from the bed at stupid hours in the morning to be found in the living room, curled up in a blanket complaining because she'd been sick again.

"Sick again?" Rick asked as he approached his wife who was, as predicted, curled up in the corner with an old blanket wrapped around her. Kneeling down beside the couch, the writer sighed as he ran his hand across her cheek as she shut her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the comfort he brought with him. "Come on, let's go back to bed" he whispered as she nodded and stood up slowly, tightly wrapping the blanket around her again before he began to lead her away from the couch with a hand resting on her hip. "Feeling any better?" he muttered as she nodded and relaxed into his side, knowing that he'd stop her from walking into anything. "Maybe we should book a doctor's appointment Kate, this isn't normal".

"It's probably just something I ate Rick" she stated as they entered their bedroom and he slowly pulled the duvet back and watched as she slid into her side of the bed. "I mean your smorlett wasn't the best thing" she declared as he rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket tightly around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm no longer being your guinea pig Rick" she stated as he slid in beside her and gently wrapped her arm around her to keep her close.

"Okay, I'll test my experiments on Alexis from now" he stated as Kate nodded and turned to bury her face against his chest. "Are you sure you don't want me to organise an appointment Kate? You have been doing this for almost a week now" he commented as she shook her head and shut her eyes, desperate to go to sleep again. "I'm worried about you" he admitted.

"I'm fine Rick" she reassured as she leant up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Your smorlett didn't agree with me Rick, that's all, I'm fine sweetheart I promise" she declared as the writer nodded and cuddled her, knowing that she liked to be held close when she felt sick. "Do you want to come and meet me after work?" she asked as the writer stared at her for a moment. "The three of us could go for a burger or something tonight, we could even go to the movies if there's an early enough film so Alexis can go be in bed in time" Kate suggested as the writer nodded, knowing that Kate was desperate to spend more time as a family.

"I'd like that" Rick smiled as he slowly pressed a kiss into Kate's hair. "Alexis would like that too" he added as Kate laughed and sighed, a small groan leaving her lips as she felt herself get worse. "Do you need to go back into the bathroom?" he asked as she nodded; quickly moving out of his arms as she disappeared into the en-suite. Sitting up slowly, the writer sighed as he followed her footsteps before kneeling down behind her and pulling her hair away from her face. "I'm going to book a doctor's appointment" he stated as she shook her head.

"I'm fine" she promised as he glared at her.

"Kate you're sick, people don't vomit for no reason" he explained as she shrugged and turned to relax back against the bath as he leant up and soaked a flannel before kneeling in front of her and gently cleaning her face as she watched him. "Do it for me Kate" he begged as she groaned, already knowing that he was going to try that on her. "I just want to know that there's nothing majorly wrong with you Katie" he stated as she nodded slowly, knowing that she would have to go to the doctor's at some point of it continued like it was.

"Give it another week, if I'm still like this then; I'll see whoever you want me to see" she yawned as he nodded slowly and shut his eyes, knowing that Kate was desperate for sleep.

XOXOXOOXXOXOXO

"Right I will see you both tonight" Kate smiled as she walked out of the bedroom and approached her husband and daughter who were currently in the kitchen. "Kiss" Kate laughed as she looked at the redhead who was sat on the kitchen side who quickly leant up and pressed a kiss to Kate's cheek before laughing. "And a kiss from you" Kate smiled, turning around to face her husband who nodded and gently kissed her as Alexis rolled her eyes.

"Alexis what did you just do?" Rick asked as confusion covered the seven year olds face.

"What?" she asked, looking around to see whether she'd broken anything. "I didn't do anything daddy" she muttered as Kate silently watched the interaction. "What did I do?" she moaned as Rick stared at her for a moment before glaring across at his wife.

"What have I done?" Kate asked as the writer crossed his arms and groaned. "Rick?" she asked.

"My daughter is rolling her eyes at me now" he declared as Kate laughed and shook her head, amazed that a simple gesture had shocked him. "You've taught her that" he moaned as he poked her arm while Kate rolled her eyes at him. "Stop it, I don't want her to learn bad habits" he stated as Kate nodded and turned around to face the seven year old.

"Roll your eyes as much as you want sweetheart" Kate explained as she pressed another kiss to Alexis' forehead before moving out of the kitchen. "Remember you're meeting me after work Rick" Kate declared as the writer nodded and smiled across at her as she pulled on her jacket. "And you're supposed to be taking Alexis to school in ten minutes and you still need to shower" Kate declared as the writer turned to look at the clock as horror covered his face. Shit! "Lex get your bag, daddy can do the school run tomorrow" Kate smiled as the writer breathed a sigh of relief before helping his daughter off the kitchen side.

"What would I do without you Kate?" Rick asked as he walked towards his wife and gently kissed her as she laughed and shrugged before moving away when Alexis ran over and grabbed her hand. "I will see you both later" the writer smiled as both Kate and Alexis nodded before leaving the apartment together.

"I think we need to buy daddy a watch" Alexis stated as they walked towards the elevator together. "Then he won't be late" she explained as Kate nodded in agreement.

"That's defiantly a good plan sweetheart" Kate smiled before holding her daughter close to her for a moment before the doors opened and they climbed into the elevator.

XOXOXXOXOXO

"So how's Alexis?" Javier asked as he sat on the edge of Kate's desk and watched as she finished another piece of paperwork before closing the file and looking up at him.

"She's good thanks" Kate smiled as the cop nodded and watched her for a moment. "Javi everything's fine" she explained as he remained silent. "I know you're worried about everything but the whole marriage is going great so you don't need to and it's not fair on Rick that you're ignoring him like this" Kate explained as Javier shrugged and moved to stand up, stopping when Kate grabbed his hand. "Because you're not talking to him, Lanie and Kevin aren't talking to him and because Kevin's not talking to him Jenny's not and he feels lonely Javi" she admitted, knowing that the writer missed their movie nights and their games of pokers. "He misses you guys".

"Well he shouldn't have hurt you then" Javier declared as Kate groaned. "Kate you walked out on him, you threw your rings at him and left so I'm sorry if I'm not ready to forgive him for whatever he did yet" he explained as he stood up and stared at her. "I'm not going to forgive him as quickly as you did because I don't believe that he's not going to hurt you again".

"You don't even know what he did Javi" she admitted as he shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, he made you feel like crap Kate and that wasn't fair" he explained as Kate shut her eyes for a moment.

"Javi just grow up and get over it; this had nothing to do with your friendship with Rick" she hissed before falling silent when her friend disappeared towards his own desk. "Men" she muttered under her breath before grabbing another file to work on, her eyes drifting up to look at the clock. "Only four hours to go" she whispered, a small smile covering her face as she thought about spending the whole evening with her family.

XOOXOXOXOXOX

Walking out of the elevator with Alexis by his side, Rick smiled as he looked across the precinct in search of his wife to find that she wasn't at her desk. Taking a risk, the writer slowly approached Kevin who was currently working on a file and humming to herself.

"Kevin?" Rick asked as the man turned to look at him, the smile that had been covering his face a minute ago disappearing as he looked at the writer. "I know you hate me but do you know where Kate is?" he asked as the cop nodded and pointed towards the restrooms. "Thanks" he whispered as he led Alexis towards Kate's desk and lifted her onto Kate's chair. "Stay here for a second" he declared as the redhead nodded and watched as her father approached the bathrooms. Knocking on the door, Rick sighed as he slowly entered the women's bathrooms before approaching the only closed door. "Kate?" he asked as he heard a groan from inside. "You okay sweetheart?" he questioned as he watched the door open to reveal Kate sat on the floor with her head now resting against her knees.

"Where's Alexis?" she asked, almost silently as the writer disappeared for a minute and reappeared with a soaked tissue. "What?" she asked, falling quiet when he began to wash her face with the tissue before throwing it away and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Do you want to go home?" he whispered as she shook her head and sighed before standing up and relaxing. "Did you eat something funny again?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her while she shook her head and moved to rest her forehead against his shoulder for a minute. "Are you sure you don't want to go home Katie?" he questioned as she nodded. "Alexis won't mind" he whispered.

"We promised Alexis that we'd take her for dinner, so we're taking her for dinner" she announced as the writer nodded and led her to the door. Watching as her parents reappeared, Alexis quickly jumped off the seat before walking towards them. "Hey sweetheart, how was school?" Kate asked as Alexis smiled before noticing how pale Kate was.

"Mommy are you okay?" Alexis asked as the brunette nodded and moved towards her desk to grab her jacket. "Are you sure?" the redhead questioned.

"I'm fine sweetheart" Kate promised as she smiled. "Now tell me everything you did at school today" Kate laughed as Alexis beamed and quickly began to explain everything she'd done that day as the whole group moved towards the elevator together.

XOOXOXOXOXOOXXO

"That's the last time I let you order spaghetti in a restaurant Rick" Kate laughed as she looked down at his previously white shirt that was now covered in a deep red sauce. "You've got more sauce down you than the three year old who was sat behind us" Kate admitted as the writer shrugged and looked across at his daughter who was glaring across at someone.

"Lex?" Rick asked before turning to see Ashley and Paige walking in together with their parents; all of them laughing as they were seated at the newly occupied table behind them. "Oh sh…" he began, stopping when Kate pressed her foot onto his.

"Watch your language" Kate warned as the writer nodded. "Are things still bad sweetheart?" Kate asked as Alexis nodded slowly and sighed when the brunette walked towards her and quickly took the seat next to her before holding her hand underneath the table as Rick watched proudly. "Lex if they're not going to treat you nicely then they're not good enough friends for you" Kate explained as Alexis watched her for a moment. "You need to find friends who will appreciate you and like you for you" she stated as the redhead smiled for a minute before hugging Kate who laughed and pressed a kiss into her hair. "Ashley and Paige aren't nice people if they're horrible to you sweetheart, I promise" Kate admitted as Rick nodded in agreement while the proud smile remained on his face. "How about we pay and on the way home we treat you to whatever type of ice cream you want?" Kate smiled as Alexis nodded and laughed in excitement while the writer waved the waiter over.

XOXOOXOXOXOXOX

"Kate?" Rick asked as he entered Alexis' bedroom to find his wife sat on the bed with Alexis curled up beside her fast asleep. "Hey, you going to come to bed?" the writer questioned as Kate nodded and stared down at the seven year old before gently pressing a kiss to her cheek and climbing out of the bed carefully. "You've been up here for almost two hours, I was starting to worry" he explained.

"I just wanted to hold her for a while" Kate admitted as the writer nodded and kissed her gently before walking towards his daughter and pressing a kiss to her cheek as Kate watched proudly. Joining her, Rick sighed as he began to lead his wife out of Alexis' bedroom as they remained silent, desperately trying not to disturb the sleeping seven year old.

"Kate, I know you said a week but…" he began as they walked down the stairs together.

"When am I going to the doctors Rick?" she asked, knowing that he wouldn't have listened to her idea I he was worried about her.

"Tomorrow at nine o'clock" he admitted as Kate smiled and nodded before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm just worried about you and if the doctor says everything's fine, then I'll calm down" he declared as they entered their bedroom and slid into bed. "I just want to make sure you're okay" he explained as he watched her for a minute.

"Thank you" she whispered before relaxing back in his arms. "Thank you for loving me" she smiled as her eyes began to shut.

**So what do you think? Caskett is back on track now, kind of! **


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you sure you don't want me to come to the doctors with you?" Rick asked as he watched Kate finish getting dressed for work before she turned to look at him and smiled; knowing that he was nervous about what the results might be. Walking over to him, Kate smiled as she gently pressed a kiss to his lips before staring at him for a moment. "I would be completely silent the whole time, I'd be there for moral support only" he declared as she laughed and hugged him close.

"You make it sound like I'm dying, it's probably just something that's been going around Rick, I'll be fine soon I promise" she explained before pressing a kiss to his cheek and sighing as his arms tightened around her; holding her close to him as he began to hum into her hair. "Do you really want to come with me today?" she asked as he remained silent, not wanting to sound like a complete worrier over the whole thing when she was being so relaxed. "If it would make you feel better, you can come with me writer man" she smiled as he lifted her from the ground for a moment. "I promise you, I'll be fine" she declared as he nodded slowly and pressed a kiss to her forehead, keeping her close to him as he door opened and Alexis ran in.

"Mommy, daddy are you ready yet?" she asked as Kate nodded and looked across at the redhead who was beaming from the doorway. "I need to go to school now or I'll be late" she moaned as she began to jump up and down on the spot as Kate laughed and walked towards the redhead who was staring up at her with the largest smile covering her face. "Are we going now?" she asked as Kate nodded and watched in amazement as Alexis ran out of sight.

"Did you feed her sugar this morning?" Kate asked as she turned to look at her husband who was now biting into his lip. "Rick" the brunette moaned.

"It was only a little bit, I didn't expect a big sugar rush" he lied as she rolled her eyes and kissed him gently. "Anyway, Alexis is always excited about school, you know that" he declared as Kate nodded slowly and sighed, pressing a kiss to his lips gently as she began to relax into his hold. "God I love you" he admitted against her lips as she laughed and nodded.

"I love you too" she replied before leaning in for another kiss.

"Mommy, daddy, we need to go to school now" Alexis screamed as Kate groaned and took a step away from him, her hand finding his as he smiled.

"We'll make out later Kate, maybe we'll get to do naked stuff too" Rick stated as she nodded and laughed, leading him out of the bedroom slowly as they relaxed. "I love naked stuff" he whispered in her eyes as she burst out laughing, unable to control her reaction as Rick smiled at her and pressed a kiss into her hair while Alexis watched in confusion.

XOXOXOXOXXOXO

"Mrs Castle" the doctor smiled as Kate entered the room with Rick beside her, their fingers entwined as Kate looked across at the older woman. "I'm Doctor Philips" she explained as Kate nodded slowly and sat down, looking down to see Rick clinging onto her hand. It was weird- having someone be more nervous than she was about the whole situation. "So what's going on?" she asked.

"I've just not been one hundred per cent at the moment, I've been sick a couple of times" she admitted as Rick glared across at her.

"She's been sick twice every day for over a week now, strong smells make her feel ill as well. She hasn't been near a cup of coffee in three days and she usually drinks it at least twice a day" Rick explained as Kate squeezed his hand, not surprised that he wasn't remaining silent like he'd promised. He cared about her and she was glad that she'd decided to bring him with her; even if it just was for moral support.

"Is there anything else?" the doctor asked as Kate looked down and stared at the hand she was holding for a moment. "Kate?" she asked as the brunette began to think.

"I'm late" she stated as shock covered the writer's face. Since when was she late? She hadn't told him any of this! Turning her head to look across at the writer, Kate sighed as she squeezed his hand and leant across to kiss him. "I only just worked out, it only just came to me" she explained as the writer nodded and kissed her cheek as the doctor smiled at them. "Oh god" she whispered in shock as she moved her free hand to rest on her stomach.

"Well Kate, we'll get a blood test from you and see whether what we all think is true" the doctor said as the writer nodded and looked across at his wife who had shock painted across his face. She hadn't thought of this as an option and she was shocked now at the idea of it! "I'll just get someone to come and do take a sample" the woman explained as she stood up and left the room as Kate looked across at her husband.

"Are you shocked?" he asked as she nodded and smiled. "Are you happy that this might be happening?" he questioned as Kate sighed and stared down at her stomach in silence, thinking about the baby that might be growing in there. "I know Alexis would be happy about having a brother or sister and I'm happy about becoming a father again but are you happy Kate?" the writer said quietly as she remained silent.

"I'm scared and nervous and excited and desperate to know whether this is really happening or not" she declared as he laughed and kissed her quickly. "We could be having a baby Rick, we could be having a baby" she whispered against his lips as he nodded and stole another kiss before the doctor walked in with a younger man behind her. "Here goes" Kate whispered as Rick nodded and watched as she began to calm down.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Can't you take the day off Kate?" Rick asked as they stood outside the precinct together with their arms tightly wrapped around each other as they smiled. The results of her test wouldn't arrive back until at least the following day and he wanted to spend the whole time with her to keep her safe until they found out whether she was pregnant or not. "We could spend the whole day together in the apartment, thinking about babies" he whispered as she groaned; a small part of her desperately wanting to go home and cuddle up with him!

"I really want to do that Rick but I need to work" she explained as he tightened his hold of her. "I really want to do that though, maybe we can do it later when I get home" she declared as the writer nodded and gently rested his forehead against hers for a moment. "We could ask Martha to take Alexis out for the evening for dinner or something and we can cuddle on the bed and baby talk" she suggested as the writer beamed in excitement as he nodded.

"I'll ask mother when I get home, I'm sure she'll love girl time with the granddaughter" Rick declared as the brunette nodded and quickly kissed her before she pulled away and laughed. "Can't you phone in sick?" the writer begged as she shook her head and laughed before tightly wrapping her arms around his neck before kissing her quickly. "You could be having a baby Mrs Castle" the writer laughed as Kate nodded and squealed before kissing him again. "There could be a miniature Castle growing inside you right now".

"That's just a scary idea" Kate smiled before stepping out of his hold. "I need to get going, I'm lucky that Roy let me have the morning off" she admitted as the writer nodded and watched as she began to walk towards the building. "Tonight, we'll talk about everything" she called over to him as he nodded, smiling as she disappeared inside.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"I just want to know" Kate moaned as she fell back on their bed and stared at the writer who was smiling at her as she ran her hands to her bare stomach which had been uncovered when her t-shirt rose up. "I just want to know whether this is real" she declared, watching as the writer threw something at her that hit the bed beside her. "Why are you assaulting me?" she asked quickly as the writer laughed and watched as she turned her body to stare the pregnancy test he'd bought. "The blood test…" she began.

"Will finalise everything but this will just give us a clue" he declared as she nodded and sat up, holding the box in her hand for a moment before sighing. "You don't have to do it but if we're both as desperate to know as we think we are, isn't it worth it?" he asked as she laughed and quickly leant up to kiss him before climbing off the bed. "Are you going to do it then?" he questioned as he sat down and watched as she disappeared into the en-suite, closing the door behind her as he laughed and relaxed back; still amazed at the fact that it might be happening. Waiting for what felt like forever, Rick stood up quickly as the door opened and Kate walked out. "What did it say?" he asked after a few moments of silence. "Are we going to have a baby?" he questioned as she remained perfectly still while tears ran down her cheeks. "Kate?" he whispered.

"I'm pregnant Rick, we're going to have a baby" she laughed, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck as he smiled and pressed a kiss into her hair as she continued to cry. "We're going to have a baby" she whispered as he nodded and stared down at her, leaning down to kiss away her tears as she continued to sob in shock. "I don't even know why I'm crying Rick, I'm happy" she declared as she ran her finger across his cheek, still shock that they were starting this chapter of their lives together so soon. "It's just really sooner than I thought".

"Kate this is an amazing thing, you're going to become a mommy" he declared as she shook her head. "Kate? Don't you want the baby?" he asked as she nodded and kissed him quickly. "Then why were you shaking your head?" he whispered as she laughed.

"I'm already a mommy Rick, just this time this baby is growing in me" she explained as their hands met on her stomach before they both laughed. "Oh god what are we going to tell my dad?" she asked in shock as the writer kissed her gently and sighed.

"Kate, we'll just tell him the truth. We're going to have a beautiful baby together and he's going to be a granddad and he might be shocked at first but then he's going to be excited" Rick explained as Kate nodded and sighed. "It was the exact same when I told my mother about Alexis" he admitted as Kate nodded again, remembering that he'd already done this once. "And when your tests come in, we'll know for certain and then we'll start planning everything".

"Rick can I ask you something?" she whispered as the writer nodded and smiled at her. "I want this to be our little secret for a while" she admitted as he nodded and kissed her again, still amazed that she was carrying his baby. "You're going to be a daddy again Mr Castle" she beamed as he nodded and slowly moved to his knees and lifted her t-shirt up before pressing a kiss to her flat stomach.

"I love you little one" he whispered before looking up at Kate who was smiling at him. "And I love you mommy" he teased as she laughed and nodded!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Where were you this morning Kate? Your side of the bed was cold when I woke up today, I missed our good morning cuddle" the writer moaned as Kate laughed and relaxed back in her chair, knowing that she'd upset him by not waking him up when she did. "Have you heard from the doctor?" he asked as Kate bit into her lip for a moment before sighing and looking across at Javier and Kevin who were throwing pens at each other.

"I've actually been to the doctor's today Rick, I got a phone call on the way into work and stopped in before starting my paperwork" Kate admitted as the writer remained silent, knowing that she was going to tell him whether is positive or not. "The test last night was right" she explained quietly as the writer laughed in excitement. "This is really happening" she laughed as the writer continued to smile.

**So what do you think? Are you happy, sad, strangely confused? I don't know just tell me what you're feeling. **


	9. Chapter 9

"And here's your babies heartbeat Kate, Rick" the woman explained as Kate listened to the noise before laughing, her head turning to look up at the writer who was smiling at her proudly while they continued to hold hands tightly. "You have one very strong baby in there, they've got a very strong heartbeat" she explained as Kate laughed and stared down at her stomach; unable to stop herself from smiling! Her baby was strong; her baby had a strong heartbeat! "I'll leave you two alone for a minute and get you some pictures" she declared as Rick nodded and watched as the woman left the room slowly. Reaching up when they were finally alone, Kate quickly pulled him down by his shirt to kiss him quickly.

"Our baby's strong Rick" Kate whispered against his lips as the writer nodded and brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face so he could look into her eyes as she spoke. "We're going to have a strong baby with a heartbeat" the brunette explained as the writer laughed at the shock in her voice.

"Kate I would be worried if our baby didn't have a heartbeat" he admitted as she nodded and sat up, wiping the gel off her stomach before she sorted her clothes out. "Do you really have to go to work now?" he asked as she nodded and smiled, her lips finding his quickly as he moaned against them. "I don't like the idea of you chasing people who have hurt other people when you're pregnant with our baby" he explained as she found his hand and laced her fingers with his.

"Just let me get through the first stage, then we'll tell everyone and I'll slow down at work. I promise" she stated as the writer kissed her forehead and moved away when the doctor entered the room again with their photos. "These are for Kate, Rick" she explained as Kate nodded and took the pictures from her before relaxing against Rick for a moment. "I'll see you two in a couple of months for your next appointment or if there's anything else you want to talk to me about" she explained as Kate nodded and thanked her before leading Rick out of the room before he took one of the photos from her and stared at the image.

"That's our baby Katie" Rick smiled as they stared at the photograph for a moment. "That's actually our baby Kate" he admitted as she nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek, unable to stop herself from smiling in excitement.

XOOXOXOXOXXOXOOX

"Javi I've forgiven him, everyone else has forgiven him but you and because of your stupid attitude to the whole thing none of them are talking to Rick because they think you'll hate them" Kate hissed as she followed him into the break room and shut the door behind her, closing them off from the rest of the world as she glared across at the cop who was planning on making a coffee. Watching as he began to make one, Kate felt the shock cover her face as she realised that she couldn't be in the same room as a cup of coffee. "Javi stop it" she screamed as the man turned to look at her in shock. "You need to grow up and talk to him" Kate admitted as she crossed her arms and sighed as the cop watched her for a moment. "I need you to talk to him again, I miss having you all around. I haven't been able to have my friends around for pizza because they all don't want to talk to my husband because they're scared of upsetting you" she begged as tears began to fill her eyes. "For god's sake" she hissed as he walked towards her and quickly wrapped his arms around her as she groaned.

"Kate" he whispered as she nodded and stared up at him, not knowing what else to do. "I just don't want to see you upset again Kate, it's not fair on you" he admitted as she nodded slowly and smiled, knowing that Javier wanted to protect her. She was family to him and in a way he was family to her as well- he was practically her brother along with Kevin! "We're having a movie night at mine tonight, you both could come along if you want" he admitted as Kate nodded and smiled, looking across at him in amazement before she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck in excitement.

"Thank you" she whispered as he nodded.

"We're having pizza and a lot to drink so you might want to think of a babysitter for Alexis tonight" Javier suggested as Kate groaned and stared down for a moment. "Everything okay?" the cop asked as she nodded and smiled. "You still feeling ill?" he asked as Kate nodded, knowing that it was the best excuse she was probably going to have about not drinking that night. "You don't have to drink if you want" he explained as Kate nodded and smiled.

"Thanks Javi, this means the world to me, to us actually" she declared as he shrugged and laughed when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you" the brunette smiled before moving away and opening the door. "You can make your coffee now Javier" she admitted as he laughed and nodded, watching as she disappeared towards her desk to finish her work.

XOOXOXOXOXO

"Kate" Lanie smiled as she ran over and wrapped her arms around her friend and laughed, enjoying the fact that the group were trying to get back together again. Moving away from the brunette, Lanie quickly looked at the writer who was remaining silent beside his wife. "Hey writer boy" the medical student said as Rick rolled his eyes at her before smiling. "It's good to see you again" she admitted as Rick began to relax.

"Thanks but it's not you I'm worried about" he admitted as he looked into the apartment, trying to work out where Javier was.

"He's just being protective Rick, everyone knows that he sees her as his little sister and he just wants to make sure she's happy" Lanie explained as the writer nodded and wrapped an arm around Kate's hip as she smiled at him. "But when he sees you two together, he'll realise that he needs to stop because you look so happy together" she declared before moving out of the way, allowing the two of them to enter the apartment as Jenny stood up and squealed before wrapping her arms around Kate.

"Hi Jenny" Kate smiled as the blonde beamed up at her in excitement before moving away and smiling at Rick who nodded at her. "We've missed you guys" the petit woman admitted as she sat back down beside Kevin who waved at them.

"We've missed everyone as well, it's been a long few months" Rick admitted as Kate relaxed beside him and laughed when he pressed a kiss into her hair. "Shall we sit down Kate?" he whispered to her as she nodded and lead him towards the couch before they sat down next to each other, their fingers laced together as they smiled up at each other. "Where's Javier then?" he asked as he looked around the apartment, falling silent when the man entered the living room with a tray of drinks.

"Speak of the devil" Lanie smiled as her boyfriend placed her drinks on the table and moved to sit beside her before looking across at Kate and Rick. "Be nice Javi, they're your friends remember" Lanie whispered in his ear as Javier nodded and groaned as Kate squeezed Rick's hand and smiled up at him. "So are you writing a new book?" the medical student asked the writer as Kate continued to squeeze his hand.

"I'm starting to think about the next one actually" Rick admitted as Kate nodded, knowing that he'd spent most of his days now drafting characters and plot ideas. "Although I want to spend more time with my family first, I think we're back on our honeymoon period again" he explained as Kate kissed him quickly and nodded, knowing that everything was perfect again.

"They seem really happy don't they Javi?" Lanie smiled as Javier nodded and smiled across at the brunette who mouthed thank you at him.

"So things are going good then with you two now?" Kevin whispered as both Kate and Rick quickly nodded and laughed at each other for a minute.

"Things are perfect right now, better than they were before we got married" Kate admitted as she cuddled up into his side and laughed as his arms tightly wrapped around him. "I love you Rick" Kate smiled as the writer laughed and kissed her quickly as both women smiled at the couple.

"Right I'm about to order pizza, what do people want tonight?" Javier declared as he stood up and walked towards the menu before kissing her quickly.

"You know what I like" Lanie smiled as Javier nodded and beamed at her.

"We'll share a Hawaiian" Kevin stated as Jenny nodded in agreement and found his hand as Rick turned and looked at her.

"What do you want to eat sweetheart?" Rick asked as Kate bit into her lip before sighing; the writer knowing that she was embarrassed about stating the one thing she seemed to want with everything.

"Can we have a cheese pizza with triple the amount of cheese and a lot of olives and some pineapple?" he asked as confusion covered everyone's face.

"That sounds disgusting" Javier commented as he stared at the writer. "Whose idea was that one?" he questioned as Kate bit into her lip.

"It's mine, I came up with it on the same day as thinking of the smorlet" he explained as everyone groaned. "And Kate kind of likes it so we go with that one, we like to be original in comparison to your boring pizzas" he lied as Kate smiled and nodded, grateful that Rick could make things up with only a click of his fingers while she panicked.

"It's interesting in a nice way" Kate admitted as everyone nodded, disgust still covering their faces at the idea of pineapple and olives on the same pizza.

XOXOOXOXXOXO

"Rick can I talk to you for a minute?" Javier asked as he cleared away the last pizza box and stared at the writer who had his arm tightly wrapped around the brunette who was half asleep. Pressing a kiss to Kate's cheek, Rick smiled as he slipped off the couch and followed Javier into another room so the rest of the group couldn't hear them. "She seems happy" the cop admitted after a few minutes of silence.

"She is Javi" Rick admitted as he looked towards the door and smiled. "We're happy, we're in an amazing place right now" he explained as Javier nodded again and stared at him for a moment as silence filled the room again. "I know you're angry about what I did but I'm not going to do it again, I love Kate and I just want to make her happy and I thought that what I was doing originally was the right thing" he declared as the cop nodded slowly, knowing that he had to become friends with the writer quickly or he'd lose Kate as well.

"Don't ever think of hurting her like that again Rick because I'll kill you next time" he warned as Rick nodded quickly. "She seems happy with you and sometimes I don't understand that but she clearly loves you" Javier explained as Rick nodded and listened as the main phone rang. Hearing Lanie answer the phone, Rick sighed as he looked across at the cop who was staring at him in silence for a moment. Hearing the door creak open, both men turned to look at the door to see Lanie standing in the doorway.

"Everything okay Lanie?" Javier asked as Lanie nodded slowly and looked across at the writer.

"That was Martha on the phone, Alexis had a bad dream and won't go back to sleep until you and Kate are home so Kate's desperate to get back" the medical student explained as Rick nodded before walking out of the room to see Kate standing by the door with worry covering her face.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" he smiled as Kate nodded and watched as he walked towards her before turning to look at their friends. "Thank you for having us over tonight, we had a great time actually" Rick explained as Kate nodded and waved at their friends before slowly walking out of the apartment with them.

XOOXOXXOXOO

"Now where's the little girl who refused to go to bed?" Rick asked as he entered his daughter's bedroom to see the redhead lying in the middle of her bed with the light on and a book in her hands. "It's really late pumpkin" the writer admitted as she shrugged and stared at the writer for a moment before Kate entered the room and stared at the seven year old for a moment.

"I had a bad dream" she admitted as Kate sighed and moved to sit down beside the redhead on the other side of the bed. "I dreamt of a monster and he was evil and trying to eat me" she explained as Kate laughed and stared at the book that Alexis was holding against her lap.

"And that's why you don't read books about dragons before going to bed" Kate stated as she took the book away from Alexis and smiled before kissing her forehead gently. "Come on you, sleep" the brunette smiled as Alexis nodded and relaxed in bed as both adults climbed off the bed and walked towards the door. Turning the light off, Rick sighed as he tightly wrapped an arm around Kate's hips before she relaxed into his side and walked down the stairs with him in silence.

"Today has been a long day" he admitted as she nodded and entered their bedroom before pulling her t-shirt off and undoing her pants before stepping out of them and reaching across for one of his t-shirts before pulling it on and sliding into bed and watching as he removed his clothes and joined her. "Our little baby is strong" he whispered as she nodded and felt his hand on her stomach. "I can't wait to tell Alexis about our little baby" he admitted.

"I can't wait to tell her that she's finally going to be a big sister" she declared as she relaxed against him and yawned. "I'm already in love with this baby" she stated against his neck as he nodded and held her close for a moment as she stayed silent while his fingers continued to run against her skin, relaxing her as she thought about her baby and how it was going to be amazing.


	10. Chapter 10

"Castle" Kate yawned down the phone as she lay in bed and felt Rick's arms wrap around her like every time they got a phone call that meant she had to go to work. "Are you going to tell me about the case Javi or not?" Kate asked as she moved the phone away from her for a moment before kissing the writer gently who smiled against her lips as she brought the phone back to her ear.

"You need to come and see the case we're on Kate, it's important" Javier stated down the phone as she sat up and held the blanket around her as the writer watched her in confusion. Listening as the cop gave her the address, Kate sighed as she nodded and said goodbye to the cop before putting the phone down and climbing out of bed.

"Come back to bed" Rick moaned as she shook her head and moved to get dressed into her uniform as the writer continued to watch her. "Kate, the baby's still tired, you need more rest" he declared as she laughed and shook her head, turning to look at him as she pulled her pants on and sighed as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Leaning down, Kate quickly pressed a kiss to his lips before sighing as his fingers moved to rest on her stomach. "Call in sick or something, just stay in bed for a bit longer because I miss you already wife" he begged as she rolled her eyes and climbed off the bed to finish getting dressed.

"Javi says it's important that I'm there" Kate stated as she pulled her hair back away from her face. "I better get going but I'll see you later, I'll call you when I get the chance to tell you about the case" the brunette admitted as he nodded and pulled her over before she kissed him gently and sighed. "I love you" she smiled as he laughed and kissed her quickly as he attempted to pull her down onto the bed beside her.

"I love you too Mrs Castle" he declared as she pushed herself away from him and shook her head. "I know, you need to go" he whispered as she nodded and laughed, unable to stop herself from smiling as she stood up and ran her hands across her stomach. "Don't feel like you're going to throw up this morning?" he asked quickly.

"I feel fine actually Rick, I just need to get going to work Rick because the quicker I get here, the sooner I get to leave hopefully" she admitted as he nodded and watched as she walked out of the room as she yawned, staring up at the clock to see that it was almost six in the morning. Six in the morning and she had to go to work!

XOXOXOOXXOXOXOXO

"So Javi, what was so important I got dragged out of bed for it?" Kate asked as she entered the precinct and approached her friends who were currently stood around her desk with concern covering their face. "Are you guys going to tell me about the case or not?" she questioned as Javier nodded and turned to look at her. Turning to look at the board, Kate stared at the image of a man lying in his apartment stabbed to death. "Who is he?" she asked.

"Doctor Clark Murry, found dead in his apartment this morning" he explained as confusion covered Kate's face. Why did she recognise his name? Why had she heard of him before? "Stabbed fourteen times in the chest" he explained as the brunette nodded slowly, still wondering why she'd been called in for this case in particular and why it was so urgent he was there.

"And why was this so urgent Javi?" she asked, feeling horrible that she was making it sound like this man's death wasn't important.

"It was what was in his hand that was important Kate" Kevin declared as confusion covered her face. Watching as Kevin passed the evidence bag; the brunette sighed as she quickly took hold of it and stared down at the image that was covered in blood but still able to see.

"Oh god" Kate whispered as she stared at the image of her and Alexis while a large black cross covered the redhead's face. "Doctor Clark Murry, oh god" she whispered as shock covered her face before sitting down in her chair as her hands moved to her stomach when she began to feel sick.

"Do you know him?" he asked as Kate shook her head.

"At least not personally, he's the one that Rick contacted about my mom's case, he found something new" Kate explained as both men nodded slowly and watched as she stood up and groaned. "Excuse me" she whispered before disappearing into the bathroom. Locking herself in the cubicle quickly, Kate groaned as she sat down and relaxed back against the wall as she continued to feel sick. Clark Murry was dead! He'd been stabbed and found with a picture of her and Alexis found in his hand. Feeling herself relax back after a few moments later, Kate sighed as she stood up and walked out of the bathroom to see Javier and Kevin watching them.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked quickly as the brunette nodded and walked towards the evidence bag to see her picture staring up at her while tears ran down her cheeks as she took in the cross that was covering Alexis' face.

"I need to go home" she admitted as both men nodded, understanding that she needed to see her little girl. "I think I need to get her out of New York for a while, just until we know something else" she whispered to herself as the two men watched her for a moment.

"Kate" Javier whispered as she nodded and stared at him for a moment. "Do you want one of us to come with you?" he asked as she shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body as she thought of everything. Alexis was in danger now probably because of Rick's decision to investigate her mother's case.

"Are you going to be okay?" Kevin said as the concern increased in his voice.

"I'll be fine, I just need to get Alexis out of town for a while" she admitted as both men nodded and watched as she left the precinct in silence.

XOXOXOXOOXOXO

Entering the apartment quietly, Kate sighed as she heard Alexis laughing and looked across to see Rick carrying her while laughing. Staring at them for a moment, Kate sighed as Rick stopped and looked at her as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Kate? Is everything okay sweetheart?" the writer asked as she nodded and watched as the writer put Alexis down and walked towards her, his arms wrapping around her body as she sighed and buried her face into his shoulder.

"You need to pack a bag for Alexis" she said as confusion covered his face. "Please, I'll explain it to you later but I just need you to pack her a bag and get her to my dad's in the next hour" Kate begged as confusion covered his face. "My dad's going away with his friends and he'll be fine taking her with him" she explained as the writer nodded slowly, staring at her in confusion before he moved away and looked at his daughter.

"Alexis, it sounds like you're going on a little holiday" Rick declared as confusion covered her face while Kate moved towards the phone and called her father. Sitting down as she watched Rick disappear upstairs with Alexis, Kate sighed as she sat down on her chair and waited for her father to answer the phone.

"Hey daddy" Kate whispered when she heard him pick up the phone. "I need to ask you something important daddy" she declared as she heard her father murmur down the line.

"What's wrong Katie?" Jim asked as she began to sob.

"Daddy someone's threatening Alexis and I need you to take her with you on holiday please, I need her to go away for a while" she explained.

"Of course sweetheart" Jim said quickly as Kate nodded and relaxed back. "How are you doing?" he whispered as she shut her eyes and groaned while her free hand moved to her stomach to run across the small bump that was starting to form. "Katie?" he whispered.

"I'm scared daddy, I'm really scared" she admitted as tears ran down her cheeks. "She's my little girl daddy, I don't want anything to happen to her" Kate explained as her father sighed. "Someone wants to hurt my baby daddy, I don't know what to do" she sobbed as her father nodded slowly, not knowing what to say to his daughter.

"Sweetheart, calm down. Just go and pack some of Alexis' stuff, bring her over and try and act excited for her because you don't want to make her worry about you" Jim explained as Kate nodded and stood up. "I'll see you later sweetheart" he whispered as Kate quickly said goodbye before putting the phone down and running upstairs to see Rick throwing things into one of Alexis' bag.

"Hey sweetheart" Kate smiled as she walked over to Alexis who tightly wrapped her arms around Kate's hips. "You're going on an adventure sweetheart and we'll want to know everything about it when you come home" the brunette explained as she leant down and pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair before sighing and looking across at Rick who was now closing the redhead's bag. "Right we better get going sweetheart" Kate declared as Rick nodded and Alexis stared at her.

"I want you to come with us mommy, it could be another holiday" the seven year old whispered as Kate shook her head and smiled at her.

"I can't sweetheart, I have to work" Kate declared as she looked across at the writer. "Daddy could go with you if you like, I'm sure he'd like the holiday too" the brunette whispered, knowing that Alexis would probably need the writer more than Kate would. "Rick go and pack a bag please" the brunette stated as she stared across at her husband.

"Kate" he whispered.

"Rick" the brunette warned as she found Alexis' hand and held onto it. "Just go and pack a bag please" she begged as he nodded and disappeared out of the room as Kate sighed and walked towards Alexis' bag and threw it over her shoulder before watching her daughter for a moment. "Come on sweetheart, let's go and wait downstairs" Kate smiled as she led Alexis downstairs and sighed. Walking downstairs, Kate waited a moment before Rick walked out with a bag and confusion covering her face.

"What's going on?" he asked as he stared at her while she shook her head. "Tell me" he declared as she moved closer to him and gently pressed a kiss to his cheek as she remained against him. "Please" he whispered.

"Murry's dead" she stated as she felt his body tense. "He had a picture of Alexis and me in his hand and someone had crossed out her face, I'm not taking any chances Rick" she explained as he nodded and kissed her gently as he felt tears run down his cheeks.

"This is my fault" he whispered as she shook her head and ran her hands to rest against his cheek. "I shouldn't have…" he began.

"No one knew this was going to happen, for all we know they weren't threatening Alexis but I don't want to take any chances" she explained as she kissed him gently and wrapped her arms around his neck while tears ran down her cheeks. "Go with her and make sure she's happy, I don't want her to be miserable because of this" she declared as the writer nodded and forced a smile onto his face as he looked across at his daughter.

"Come on pumpkin, we have an adventure to go on" he explained as the redhead nodded and smiled at them both. Finding Kate's hand, Rick sighed as he laced his fingers with her and smiled as she nodded and felt the tears run down her cheeks. "You'll be okay won't you?" he asked as she nodded. "And you'll make sure that you eat enough for you and stay hydrated and will listen to what your body tells you, you're not looking after yourself anymore Kate" he declared as she nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek as they walked out of the apartment together.

XOXOXOXXOXOXO

Standing outside her father's apartment, Kate sighed as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair while the seven year old continued to hug her; desperately trying not to let her go. Watching as Jim and Rick walked out of the building; Kate smiled weakly as the writer walked over and kissed her gently before resting his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Try and have fun" Kate whispered as the writer nodded and smiled at her as she bit into her lip. "Stay safe though, don't trust anyone, and be careful" she begged as he nodded again and watched as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck when Alexis had moved away from her. Burying her face into his shoulder, the brunette sighed as Rick tightened his arms around her, no wanting to let her go.

"You'll stay safe too" he whispered as she nodded.

"I'll be fine, Javi and Kevin will become overly protective when they find out I've sent you away too. If I get really freaked out about being on my own then I'll go and stay with someone until you come home" she explained as he nodded and sighed before kissing her again, not knowing what else to do but take as many as physically possible before he was forced to leave her. "Baby's going to miss you" she admitted as he laughed and ran his hand under her shirt to touch her bump.

"Rick we need to go" Jim called over as the writer nodded and took a step away from him as Kate grabbed his hand as tears ran down her cheeks.

"I'm scared Rick" she admitted as the writer pulled her into his arms and listened to her sob into his chest as he buried his face into her hair.

"I'm scared too Katie" he whispered, still trying to get used to the fact that because of him Alexis was being threatened because of what he'd done.

XOXOXOXOXXO

Lying on her bed, Kate felt the tears run down her cheeks as she ran her hands across her bump while she remained dressed in only a pair of shorts and one of Rick's shirt; feeling safe in his clothing as she caressed her baby bump. She'd attempted to go back to the precinct once she'd left her father's home but Montgomery had sent her away saying see was too involved and therefore couldn't work the case and that she needed to have a couple of days off to calm down! Hearing the front door open, Kate felt her body tense as she stood up and reached into the drawer for her gun before opening the door and walking out with the gun in front of her; fear running through her veins as she approached the living room.

"Kate what are you doing?" a voice asked as she put the gun down to see Martha staring at her in shock. Putting the gun down on the side, Kate felt herself relax as the redhead walked towards her and wrapped her arms around the brunette as Kate broke down. "What is going on?" the older woman asked as Kate shook her head.

"Rick and Alexis had to go away for a while" she admitted as confusion covered Martha's face. "Rick was investigating my mother's murder and he stopped but the man he contacted about it was found dead this morning and this was a picture of Alexis in his hand that indicated that she was in danger" Kate stopped as the redhead tightly held her daughter in law in her arms as the brunette sobbed. "I want them back already Martha" Kate admitted.

"I know you do sweetheart" Martha whispered as she pressed a kiss into Kate's hair. "I'm not leaving you here tonight on your own, come on you can come with me to the theatre" the redhead explained as Kate bit into her lip. "Kate, I know you've seen the play already but you can stay in my dressing room or you could sit in the wings, the director loves me so he'll let you stay" Martha stated as Kate nodded and smiled up at the redhead. "But you have to change first" she ordered as Kate nodded and walked into her bedroom, taking her gun with her. Changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Kate sighed as she walked out of the bedroom to see Martha waiting for her. "Come on slow coach" Martha laughed as Kate smiled at her and walked out with Martha beside her.


	11. Chapter 11

Entering the precinct, Kate sighed as she rested her hand on her stomach, unable to stop herself from groaning. She'd felt like crap from the moment she'd woken up and it had gotten worse when she realised that she was alone in the apartment and had no one to look after her. She didn't have a husband to cuddle up with who would kiss her forehead or hold her hair back when she was sick or simply make a cup of tea to make her feel better. She missed having someone love her. She missed Alexis' cuddles in the mornings and the evening they used to spend curled up on the couch together talking about their days.

"Kate, what are you doing here?" Javier asked as she shrugged and sat down at her desk before staring at the pile of paperwork that had been forming in the middle of the table. "Kate come on, we're going for a talk" he declared as he led the brunette away from her desk as she remained silent and followed him into the break room as he shut the door and held her close. "You should be at home, you don't need to be here for this Kate; not when this whole thing revolves around you" he explained as she shook her head and stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"I can't stay home Javi, I hate being on my own right now" she explained as he nodded and watched her. "When Martha's home things are okay but she's working on her play at the moment and I don't want to ask her to stay but when I'm on my own every noise is louder and it sounds like there's someone in the loft" she stated as the cop watched her. "I just want Rick and Alexis back but it's not safe for her yet but all I want is a cuddle and someone to talk to when I'm on my own and I hate this" she sobbed as Javier quickly wrapped his arms around her and felt her bury her face into his shoulder.

"What about if I stay at yours until Rick comes home?" he asked as Kate looked up and smiled at him before nodding, knowing that she was desperate to have someone stay with her. "Lanie can come and visit and we'll make sure you don't feel lonely" the cop explained as Kate smiled. "Want a coffee?" he asked as she shook her head and moved to sit down as he stared at her in confusion. "I don't think I've seen you have a coffee in weeks now" he explained as she laughed and shrugged.

"I'm giving up" she replied, attempting to be as honest as she could be.

"But why are you giving up Kate?" he questioned as she bit into her lip, desperately wanting to tell someone her secret.

"Promise you won't tell anyone" she whispered as he nodded. "Not even Lanie Javi, this is a secret but I need someone to know who's in New York" she explained as he nodded again, knowing that it had to be important if she hadn't told anyone why in the weeks that she hadn't been drinking coffee. "I'm going to become a mommy" she declared as he stared at her in shock. "I'm almost fourteen weeks pregnant" she stated as the cop laughed and wrapped his arms around her as she squealed. "I just Rick was around because he'd be amazing at all of this, we were going to discuss baby stuff every night after Alexis went to bed and I feel like my whole family has been taken away from me Javi" she admitted as the cop stared at her for a moment.

"Well we'll talk baby things, I probably won't be any good but you can tell me anything" he laughed as Kate nodded and sighed. "I finish work in two hours so if you want to stay here and do paperwork, we could buy pizza on the way back to the loft" he explained as Kate nodded.

"Thanks Javi" the brunette whispered before they walked out of the break room together to see Kevin watching them. "I better get on with my pile of paperwork then" she groaned as the two men nodded and disappeared towards the murder board, desperately trying to solve the case so they could bring Alexis and Rick home to their friend.

XOXOXOXOOXXOXO

"What do you want for dinner?" Javier asked as they entered her apartment while Kate shrugged and threw her jacket across the couch. "We can order something in if you want, I'll eat anything so you choose" he declared as she shook her head and moved towards Rick's office in silence; not knowing to say. She was tired and desperate to lie in bed with Rick's arms around her. She wanted him back! Following her into the office, Javier watched from the doorway as Kate sat down in Rick's chair before pulling the desk drawer open and removing a small book.

"I want them home Javi, I want them back home" she whispered as she opened the book to reveal Rick's scribbled writing and pictures he'd slid into the book while he'd been working. Running her fingers across the image of her and Rick dancing on their wedding day with the largest smiles covering their faces. Hearing the phone ring, Kate sighed as she shut her eyes and listened as Javier approached her and picked up the phone that was resting on the desk.

"Castle apartment" he stated before falling silent and murmuring in agreement to whatever the person had said. "Kate you need to take this" Javier stated as the brunette opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment before leaning forward and taking the phone from him.

"Hello?" she whispered, wanting whoever it was to go away. She wanted to sit and moan and find whoever had threatened her little girl!

"Kate?" a voice asked as shock covered her face. "Are you okay? You sound sick?" Rick questioned as tears ran down her cheeks at the sound of his voice. "Kate? Are you still there?" he asked quickly as she nodded.

"Of course I'm still here" she laughed as he smiled and listened to her for a moment as silence began to take over the line. "Rick, how's Alexis?" she asked desperately as the writer smiled, realising that Kate was missing them as much as they were missing her.

"She's out fishing with your dad and his friends at the moment, she's really enjoying it actually" Rick admitted as Kate nodded, glad to hear that Alexis was doing something while she was out of New York. "She misses you like crazy Kate, she keeps asking when you'll come visit or when we get to come home" he explained as she bit into her lip and brought her legs up onto the chair as she sighed.

"I'm sorry" she sobbed as he shook his head, angry that he'd made her upset already. "I want you to come home Rick, I miss you so much but I can't risk Alexis by being selfish and bringing you home when it might not be safe" she explained as the writer nodded in agreement, understanding that she was desperate to look after their little girl. "Baby misses you" she admitted as the writer laughed.

"I miss baby too and I miss baby's mommy too" he declared as Kate smiled and relaxed back. "Are you doing okay Kate? Because if you're not Alexis won't mind if I come home, she's having a great time with Jim, I hardly see her actually" he explained as the brunette relaxed in his chair and ran her free hand across her bump, enjoying the feel of where her baby was growing underneath her hand. "Have you been allowed back at work yet?" he asked.

"To do paperwork only" she moaned as the writer nodded. "Javi's come to stay with me until you come home because I freaked myself out last night" she explained, knowing that her comment was going to concern her husband.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Just noises in the apartment scare me sometimes, especially when Martha's not home but I'm doing okay. I've been going to work with Martha some nights but at the moment I'm tired and just want to be at home moaning about everything" she admitted as Javier reappeared in the office with a mug of tea in her hands. "Tell me everything you've been doing" she begged as the writer sighed. "Tell me everything right from the day you left me".

"Well the first day was mainly about trying to make it seem like a holiday to Alexis" he stated as the brunette nodded. "But she's really enjoying herself now, we've been fishing and Alexis caught a massive fish which we took a picture of her holding so you won't miss out" he explained as she nodded, glad that they were taking pictures of everything. "We went camping one night which was cool, Alexis and I danced around the camp fire and your dad just laughed at us with his friends which was kind of embarrassing. We also told ghost stories and guess who won?" he laughed as she found herself feeling better already.

"I don't know Rick, who won?" she asked, deciding to play along with his game.

"I did of course, I'm the best at ghost stories" he explained as she nodded and took a sip of her tea before sighing and relaxing. "When we come home Katie, we're going to cuddle up on that couch together as a family and we're going to tell everyone about baby" he declared as she nodded.

"I'd like that although Javi knows" she admitted before sighing. "He tried to make me a coffee and I ended up having to explain and I'm sorry but I need someone in New York who knows Rick. I need someone who I can talk to about baby" she declared.

"Kate sweetheart it's fine, I thought you'd tell someone" he smiled as she nodded. "I personally thought it would be Lanie actually seeing that she's a med student and a woman as well" he stated as Kate laughed, not surprised that Lanie was the person he thought she'd tell first. Hearing noises down the line, Kate sighed as she heard the familiar sound of Alexis laughing along with Jim Beckett. "I should go Katie, everyone's back and we're about to make dinner" he admitted as Kate felt herself bite into her lip while she desperately tried not to cry.

"Please call me later" she begged as the writer sighed. "I don't care when Rick just please call me later" she whispered as she stared down at her stomach and thought about how Rick was missing her pregnancy of their first child together. "I should let you go now" she declared when she heard Alexis scream daddy at Rick.

"I love you" Rick stated as the brunette nodded.

"I love you too Rick, I love you so much writer man" she whispered before they said goodbye and put the phone down. Climbing out of her chair, Kate sighed as she stared at the book she'd brought out before the phone call and smiled at what he had written.

_On honeymoon- no time to write anything really because Kate's being so wonderfully distracting! _

"Have you decided what you want for dinner?" Javier asked as he stared at the brunette who looked up at him before smiling. "We could have Chinese or Indian or Italian Kate, I honestly don't mind as long as you eat something decent" he explained as Kate bit into her lip for a moment, still trying to decide on what she wanted for dinner.

"Chinese would be cool" she smiled before standing up and looking at him. "Why don't you invite the others over? It's not fair that you're stuck here with me when I'll probably fall asleep after we've eaten" she explained as the cop nodded and moved to grab the phone to call his girlfriend and their friends. Sitting down on the couch, Kate sighed as she lay across it before resting her hands on her stomach and shutting her eyes; desperately trying not to think about her husband and daughter who were far away from her having fun while she was left alone in their big apartment.

XOXOXOXOOXOOXO

"She's fast asleep" Lanie smiled as she stared at the brunette who was curled into the corner of the couch with her face buried into the material while she slept peacefully. "You need to solve this case" Lanie stated as she turned to look at Javier and Kevin who were beginning to clean away the take out.

"We're trying but there's nothing there Lanie" Kevin moaned as he stared at his sleeping friend. "We'll get the bastard who murdered Murry though and then we'll get Alexis and Rick home" the cop explained as everyone nodded and watched as Javier put the empty take out boxes in the bin before walking over and moving to lift Kate into his arms. Carrying her into her bedroom, Javier sighed as he rested the brunette on the bed before smiling at her.

"We'll get them home soon Kate, we'll get them home before you know it" he declared as he pulled the blanket up around her as Lanie watched silently from the doorway. Turning his head, Javier smiled at the sight of his girlfriend before standing and walking towards her as his lips found hers.

"You really care about her don't you?" Lanie asked as he nodded, turning to look across at the brunette.

"She's like a sister to me, I guess I want to look after her" he admitted as he wrapped an arm around Lanie before leading her out of the main bedroom as Kate slept peacefully where the cop had placed her.

XOOXOXOOXOXOO

Yawning as she heard the phone ring beside her bed, Kate sighed as she reached across for the phone in an attempt to silence it before she brought it to her ear and shut her eyes again, exhaustion taking over.

"Hello" she whispered as she waited for a response from him.

"You better be all curled up in bed right now Mrs Castle" Rick laughed as she smiled and opened her eyes to stare across at their wedding photo that decorated the bedside table.

"I am but it's cold without you Rick, our bed needs a writer to come and warm it up so I feel all warm and comfortable again" she admitted as the writer laughed and listened as she sighed and continued to stare at their ceiling. "God I want you to come home Rick, I'm going crazy without you here" she moaned as he laughed at her obvious frustration.

"I miss you too sweetheart" he replied gently as she groaned. "When I see you Kate I'm going to scoop you into my arms and kiss you like there's no tomorrow" he explained as she giggled gently, already excited at the idea. "And then I'm going to drag you into our bedroom and make love to you until the earlier hours of the morning when we're both exhausted and desperate to sleep in each other's arms again" he declared as she smiled at the idea of it, already enjoying the sound of his plan.

"Lanie stayed over tonight" Kate admitted as the writer groaned. "They think they're being crying but they're pretty loud" she smiled as the writer laughed and relaxed. "Remember when we went to Miami and there was that couple upstairs" she began as he groaned.

"They weren't like them were they?" he asked.

"They're louder" she admitted as Rick moaned as she laughed in amazement. "God Rick I miss you, I miss laughing with you when you tell me jokes in bed and I miss you cuddling me and refusing to let me go in the morning" she explained as she shut her eyes. "We had plans Rick, we were going to talk about the baby and then whoever this person is had to destroy everything" she declared as tears ran down her cheeks. "I want to talk about baby with someone, I wanted to share every moment of this with you, I needed to share every moment of this with you" she sobbed as the writer sighed.

"Kate…" he whispered.

"When I find the bastard I'm going to kill him myself, I'm going to kill him for taking you away from me! I'm going to kill him from threatening Alexis and for making you go away from me and our baby" she warned; her anger building up as the writer remained silent. "I'm going to kill him Rick".

"I know sweetheart but calm down, it's not good for the baby is it?" he declared as she shook her head and ran her hand down to her small bump.

"Mommy won't get angry again baby" Kate whispered, forgetting that she was on the phone for a moment.

"Have you been talking to our baby for a while now?" he asked as she shrugged and tried to work out the first time that she'd actually talked to their bump.

"I don't know actually, I probably started talking to our baby the day you left because it reminded me that I wasn't on my own" she explained as the writer smiled weakly. "It reminds me that no matter where you are we had a life together to look forward too" she admitted as she looked at her rings for a minute. "It reminds me that we've got a life as husband and wife together" she stated as the writer smiled. "And no one is ever going to destroy our lives together" she explained as she relaxed back.

"You're perfect Mrs Castle" Rick sighed as she laughed before yawning. "Look it's late and you need sleep so I'll talk to you at the next possible point" he explained as Kate groaned, not wanting him to go away.

"Please don't hang up" she begged as he sighed. "Rick I don't want you to stop talking to me" she whispered, annoyed at how lost she felt without him.

"Kate I'm worried about you" Rick admitted. "Do you want me to come home Kate? Alexis can stay with your dad…" he began.

"Rick no, you're Alexis' father and she needs you to look after her" she stated as she sighed. "I'll cope until we catch the bastard" she declared before yawning. "Maybe I should go to sleep Rick, I'm starting to get quite tired" she whispered as he nodded and remained silent for a moment. "I love you Rick".

"I love you Katie, I love you so much" he stated before they both said goodbye and hung up. Relaxing back, Kate sighed as she slowly ran her hand to her stomach and smiled.

"Goodnight baby, sleep well" she whispered before relaxing back and shutting her eyes, desperately trying to get some sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

"Javi" Kate screamed as she sat up in bed and watched as the cop ran in, dressed in his pyjamas, while Martha closely followed; concern covering their faces as they stared at the brunette who was sat in the middle of the bed with panic covering her face. "Someone's been in here" she stated as Javier walked towards her and watched as she reached across for his hand. "Someone's been in my room Javi" she whispered as he shook his head and smiled at her, knowing that it was unlikely that someone had managed to get into the apartment. "It's gone Javi, someone's been in here and taken it" she panicked as he stared at her for a moment.

"Kate what's gone?" he asked as she looked across at her bedside table where her wedding photo was stood along with a whole family photo. "Nothing's missing Kate" he declared as she shook her head and sighed, knowing that she didn't want to admit it with Martha in the room. She still wanted this to be secret and she especially didn't want to tell family without Rick being with her. "Martha could you make Kate a cup of tea please?" Javier asked as he turned to look at the redhead who nodded slowly and smiled at her daughter in law before walking out of the room. "Now tell me" he stated as she shut her eyes.

"I kept my picture there, the picture of the baby" she admitted as she opened her eyes and put her hand in between the two frames. "I didn't want to hide it in here and now someone's come in and taken it Javi, someone else knows about the baby" she sobbed as the cop wrapped his arms around her for a moment as she continued to cry. "Javi what if the person who threatened Alexis came here and took my picture?" she whispered as he sighed.

"Kate we'll find them I promise, no one's going to hurt Alexis or the baby" he murmured as he attempted to calm her down. "Maybe it's fallen on the floor Kate, have you looked down there?" he declared as the brunette shook her head and watched as Javier moved away from her and quickly knelt on the floor before looking around to see if he could find the image. Sighing as he realised her picture wasn't there, the cop slowly looked up to see Kate staring down at him. "Okay, you should try and get a couple more hours of sleep" he declared as he stood up and watched as she shook her head, desperate to not be left on her own. Someone had been in her apartment, in her bedroom and taken her sonogram picture.

"Can you stay here please?" she whispered as he nodded and moved to sit on the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry if this is awkward for you" she admitted as she relaxed back and pulled the duvet around her and turned her head to look at the man who was lying above it.

"Kate, we're good friends who are in serious relationships with other people, I think it's okay for us to sleep in the same room" Javier stated as she nodded and ran her hands under the blanket to rest on her baby, hoping that she'd be able to protect her baby from all the evils in the world. "You're going to be fine Kate" the cop whispered as the brunette stared at him for a moment in silence. "I'll make sure that you're all okay" he promised as Kate shut her eyes and smiled weakly.

XOXOOXOXOXXOXO

"She's asleep at the moment but she'll be up soon, just look after her" Javier stated as he looked at his girlfriend who had just entered the loft yawning. "She's not been sleeping too well so if she falls asleep, just leave her alone and do something quiet" he declared as Lanie rolled her eyes at him and leant up and kissed him gently as his arms tightly wrapped around her. "And no coffee, she's sick at the moment and it makes her worst" he listed as Lanie glared at him.

"Javi I know how to look after my friend now go to work and I'll see you later" she moaned as he nodded and watched as she gently pressed a kiss to his lips as he moaned. "I love you" she whispered as he smiled and rested his forehead against his. "Now go to work Javi and we'll see you later" she ordered before moving away from him and pushing him gently as he laughed and moved towards the door. Hearing him shut the door, Lanie sighed as she slowly walked towards her friends bedroom to see the brunette lying in the middle of the bed fast asleep. "Kate" Lanie whispered, watching as the brunette groaned and turned to look at her. "Good morning stranger".

"Hi" Kate whispered as she sat up and smiled across at the medical student. "Has Javi gone to work?" she asked as Lanie nodded and moved to sit beside her friend before relaxing back against the headboard and looking down at Kate.

"So what do you want to do today?" Lanie asked as Kate shrugged and moved to lie down again. "Kate we should get out of the apartment, I know you're scared at the moment but you can't hide in here" she explained as she watched her friend for a moment. "Rick wouldn't want you to lie around and not do anything with your life while he's gone Kate, he'd want you to go out and have fun" she stated as Kate nodded, knowing that Rick would want her to have fun. They were having fun where they were so why shouldn't she?

"I guess we could go out for a couple of hours Lanie" she admitted before sneaking out of bed and yawning as she turned to look across at her bedside table, desperate for her sonogram to be back on the side. "But first I need to shower".

XOXOXOXOOOXOX

"So Javi says you've not been feeling good recently" Lanie commented as she entered the shop with the brunette who had been silent for most of the morning. "Want to tell me what's wrong? I am a medical student after all" Lanie laughed as Kate shook her head and smiled as she walked towards the children's clothes to find something new for Alexis to spoil her with when she came home. "Kate, if you need to talk to someone…" she began.

"Then I will talk to someone but right now I'm fine and I just want my husband and my baby back" she explained as she ran her fingers across a pale green dress that she knew Alexis would love. "It's the little things I miss, I miss cuddling Rick in the morning and fighting over getting out of bed, I miss Alexis running into our room and cuddling in bed with us" she admitted as she lifted the dress up and held it out in front of her. "I miss cuddling on the couch with my family and moaning about things that now seem so stupid" she whispered as a tear ran down her cheek slowly. "I just miss my baby and Rick and I want them back and whoever is hurting my family to leave us alone" she blurted out before forcing a smile onto her face. "What do you think about this for Alexis?" she asked as she stared down at the green dress she was holding.

"It's lovely Kate" Lanie whispered as Kate nodded and smiled, desperately trying to act like her life was perfect. She was twenty years old, she had a husband and a daughter and a baby on the way and everything felt wrong. "Kate, it's okay to be scared" Lanie comforted as Kate shook her head and turned to look at Kate.

"Lanie I'm not scared, I'm terrified of everything at the moment" the brunette whispered as her friend tightly wrapped her arms around her, not caring who saw them. "I feel completely useless, I can't even help on the case because I'm too involved" she admitted as Lanie sighed, not knowing what else to do to make her happy. "I'm going to go and buy the dress, I'll be back in a minute" she stated as she moved away from her friend and began to walk across the shop, needing a few moments alone. Walking into someone, Kate groaned as she dropped the dress and watched as a man leant down to pick it up for her.

"Sorry" he smiled as she shook her head and forced a smile onto her own face.

"It's fine, I wasn't looking where I was going, I was in my own little world" she admitted as the man smiled at her and gently passed her the dress.

"For your sister?" he asked as she laughed and shook her head again.

"My daughter actually, I want to treat her to something special because she's away from home at the moment" Kate explained before falling silent, why was she telling him this? Why was she telling a stranger all about her family? "Sorry, I don't know when to stop talking sometimes" she admitted as the man laughed.

"Don't worry, you seem like a very proud mom" he stated as she shrugged, knowing that her daughter was the most important thing in her life except for her husband and the baby that was currently growing inside her. "I'm Dick" he smiled as she nodded slowly.

"I'm Kate" she declared before sighing. "I need to get going, my friend is waiting for me and she'll probably come searching for me if I don't hurry up" she explained as the man nodded and laughed before she thanked him again and walked away. Putting the dress down as she smiled at the cashier, Kate sighed as she watched the woman fold the dress before placing it in the bag and sighing gently.

"Congratulations" the woman said cheerily as confusion covered Kate's face. "On the baby" she stated, passing the photograph to the brunette who stared in shock at the sonogram that she'd lost that morning.

"I…" she began as she turned the photo over to see her scribbled writing on the back. This was defiantly hers. This was defiantly her baby! "Thanks" she whispered before grabbing the bag and looking behind her to see whether she could see the man she'd been talking to only a few moments ago. "Thanks" Kate whispered again before walking off to find Lanie as she continued to hold the photo in her hand.

XOXOOXOXOXOXOX

XOOXOXOXOXOXXO

"Are you sure you're okay Kate?" Lanie asked as they walked out of the elevator together. She'd been acting weirdly from the moment she'd bought the dress, only stating that she needed to go home and call Javier about something important. Stopping as she stared at a parcel in front of the door, Kate slowly leant down and grabbed it before leaning against the door and ripping it open. Dipping her hand into the parcel, Kate slowly pulled out the small white baby grow that was resting within the parcel before turning it to see what was on the front. The message _I love my daddy_ was edited with a deep black line scribbled across the word daddy.

"Kate?" Lanie whispered as she walked towards her friend and slowly reached across for the small outfit as Kate buried her hand into the parcel to see whether there was anything else. Removing a photo, Kate bit into her lip as she stared at the darkly lit photograph of her Alexis and Rick tied to a chair with blindfolds covering their faces.

"I need a phone" she whispered as she unlocked the door and ran into the apartment, dropping everything she was holding as she approached the phone and dialled the only number she could think of. Waiting for someone to answer, Kate gasped as she heard the phone stop ringing and knew she could talk. "Dad where's Lex and Rick?" she asked quickly, not giving her father any time to talk. Hearing her father call out Rick and Alexis' names, Kate bit into her lip as she felt the panic build up inside her; where were they? "Daddy, where are they?" she begged as her father fell silent before talking to someone.

"Katie…." Jim began as Kate felt the tears run down her cheeks. "No one's seen them today" he admitted as she sobbed outloud. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I thought they were still here, we all went out fishing today but Alexis wasn't feeling well so Rick stayed behind with her" he explained as she shut her eyes.

They now had Alexis and Rick!


	13. Chapter 13

"It's going to be okay sweetheart, we're going to get them back" Martha whispered as she sat on the break room couch with Kate's head in her lap as the brunette continued to sob. "We're going to get them back Katie and they're going to be perfectly fine and everything will be wonderful again" the redhead declared as she forced a smile onto her face as she stared down at her daughter in law who was still crying. Hearing the door open, Kate watched as Javier walked over and knelt down beside the couch as she stared at him silently. "Do you know anything yet Javier? Do you know where my son or granddaughter is?" Martha asked as he remained silent for a moment.

"We're still looking, we have as many officers as physically possible on the case as we can afford" he explained as Martha nodded gently, thanking him for a moment as they both looked at the silent brunette whose eyes were shut while her hand continued to run across her stomach. "We're going to find them Kate; we're going to find them" he promised as he leant across and pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing up and smiling at the two women as he left the break room again, not knowing what else to say. He wanted to find Alexis and Rick; he wanted to bring them home for his best friend!

"How far gone are you?" Martha asked as Kate stared up at her in confusion. "Kate, you haven't stopped touching your stomach all day, you've not touched any coffee for weeks, I know you're pregnant Katie so don't try acting like you're not" she stated as Kate nodded weakly and smiled as she thought about her baby.

"Fourteen weeks now" she admitted as the redhead smiled, excited about the prospect of having another grandchild. "We're going to find them aren't we Martha because I don't even want to think about raising this baby on my own without him" she explained as the redhead watched the tears that were running down Kate's cheek. "I'm scared, I'm really scared" she sobbed as she felt Martha run her fingers through her hair again.

"They'll be home before you know it darling, they'll be home perfectly safe soon" Martha explained before smiling down at her for a moment. "When Rick looks back on this whole thing, it'll be another amazing adventure that he's been through and Alexis will bounce back from this before we know it, we'll find them sweetheart" she whispered before leaning down and gently pressing a kiss to Kate's cheek before watching as the brunette sat up and yawned. "Do you want a boy or girl?" she asked.

"I want a healthy baby with a husband by my side" she explained as she stared down at her stomach and yawned. "Although a boy would be amazing, we already have one girl so it would be nice to have a baby boy" the cop declared as she smiled down at her small bump that was revealed by her t-shirt that had rolled up when she moved. "A little boy would be cute but I can't imagine raising a child with Rick's craziness" she stated as Martha smiled.

"Rick was a nightmare child to bring up at times but I loved every moment of it Kate" Martha sighed as she wrapped her arm around the brunette who cuddled up against her for a moment. "They'll find them sweetheart, they'll find them and they'll be perfect fine darling" she soothed as she continued to hold her daughter in law close, not wanting to see the young woman cry again.

XOOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hearing the phone ring, Kate groaned as she looked across to see that Javier and Kevin were busy discussing something with Montgomery in his office. Walking towards the phone, Kate sighed as she lifted the screaming object before sighing.

"Castle" she muttered as her hand rested on her stomach, an act she'd been doing more over the past few days.

"Hello Katherine" a voice said as she felt her body tense at the sound. Hearing the door creak open, Kate looked up to see her three colleagues staring at her as she bit into her lip. "I have someone here who wants to talk to you Katherine, she keeps crying out for you in the middle of the night actually, she begs for you to come and save her" he stated as she shut her eyes.

"Mommy" Alexis screamed as Kate felt the tears run down her cheeks. "Mommy is that you?" the redhead asked in tears as Kate sat down and listened to her daughter for a moment. "Mommy are you still there?" Alexis sobbed.

"Hey baby, of course I'm still here" Kate whispered as Javier walked over and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay sweetheart? No one's hurt you or anything?" she asked as she listened to her daughter cry down the line. "Baby I need you to tell me that you're okay, I need to know that no one's hurt you pumpkin" Kate begged as she waited for an answer.

"Alexis why don't you tell your mom how you are sweetheart?" the man asked as Kate waited for the redhead to answer.

"I'm okay mommy but daddy's hurt" the redhead stated as Kate looked up at Javier who was silently ordering others around. "His face is all black mommy and they won't let me talk to him, mommy when are you going to come and save us?" Alexis asked as Kate shook her head, desperately wanting to wake up from the nightmare that she was living. "Mommy I want to go home" the redhead sobbed as tears continued to run down Kate's cheeks.

"Yes Katherine when are you going to come and save your beautiful little girl?" the man asked as Kate glared across the room at the murder board that was covered with pictures of the murdered doctor and images from the cameras in the store where she'd talked to 'Dick' and other pictures of Alexis and Rick linked up to everything. "She wants to go home Katherine, your little girl wants you to come home".

"You bastard" Kate hissed as she felt Javier squeeze her shoulder. "I'm going to kill you when I find you, I'm going to kill you for hurting them" the cop declared as she attempted to sound angry instead of sad.

"Kate" Javier whispered as he grabbed his jacket and pulled it on.

"I want to talk to Rick" Kate declared.

"You're in no place to make demands right now Katherine" the man stated as she remained still. "If you had left her case alone Kate, everything would have been fine but you were stupid and couldn't leave it alone" he said furiously as she felt the silent tears continue to run down her cheeks. "And it's your fault that your little girl is scared and your husband isn't capable of talking right now".

"I promise I won't look into her case again, just tell me where they are" she begged, not caring about anything else. "Please, I don't care about her case anymore, just let me have them back today" she whispered as she continued to cry. "I won't go near her case again".

"Do you think I'm stupid Kate?" he hissed as she shook her head before gasping when she heard Alexis screaming.

"Mommy" the redhead hollered as Kate continued to sob. "Mommy, I want my mommy" the redhead sobbed as Kate stood up.

"Leave her alone" Kate begged before the line died. Dropping the phone, Kate turned to look at the cops who were watching her. "Please tell me you know where they are" she begged as Javier nodded and smiled at her as her arms tightly wrapped around his neck. "I'm coming with you" she stated as Javier opened his mouth to speak. "Javier Esposito I am coming with you and that's final" she warned as she walked towards the elevator with him, knowing that Javier and Kevin weren't even going to try and argue with her.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Entering the dark and empty apartment with the gun held tightly in her hands, Kate gasped as she saw the writer lying in the distance against the wall. Running over to her husband as Javier and Kevin continued to look around, Kate quickly ran her hands to Rick's cheek as she stared at his bruised face.

"Rick wake up" she begged as she leant down and rested her forehead against his for a moment. "It's me, it's Katie" she whispered in tears as she gently pressed a kiss to his forehead. "It's Katie, I found you" she stated before falling silent and looking around. Where was Alexis? "I'm going to go and find Alexis but I'll be back in a minute and then I expect you to have woken up by then" she warned before standing up and walking in the direction that her partners had disappeared in. Pushing a door open slowly, Kate felt her body tense as she stared at the man who was holding a gun to the sobbing redhead's temple.

"Look Alexis it's your mommy" he laughed as Alexis looked across at Kate who forced a smile onto her face.

"Mommy" Alexis sobbed as the man continued to hold onto her shoulder tightly.

"Hey baby, I'm here now" Kate declared as she smiled down at her daughter quickly before looking up at the man. "Let her go, she hasn't done anything wrong" she begged as she continued to point the gun at the man.

"I don't think I will Katherine because killing you wouldn't punish you but killing her would torture you so much, you would never forgive yourself" he smiled as Kate watched Alexis shut her eyes.

"I'll kill you before you have the chance to hurt her" she warned as the man laughed at her comment as he pressed the gun against Alexis' forehead as tears continued to run down both the redhead's and brunette's cheeks.

"You really think this will be over if you kill me Kate? You think I'm the only one involved in this?" he asked as she bit into her lip. "This is so much bigger than one man Kate, you're never going to just end this" he warned as she ran her finger to the trigger, not caring about anything but her little girl who was sobbing with a gun against her head. "She'll never be safe, he'll never be safe, your baby won't be safe" he threatened as she continued to watch him in silence.

"Let her go" Kate warned as she heard Javier and Kevin enter the room behind her. "She's done nothing wrong here, she's just a little girl" she admitted as she watched her daughter for a moment while Dick's finger moved to the trigger. "Please don't, she's innocent in this" she begged, offering him the last opportunity as he smiled.

"Kate, do you think I care about whether she's innocent or not?" he asked as she stared at him. "You remind me of your mother Katherine" he explained as she tried not to react. "She had the exact same look on her face when I plunged the knife into her and told her that I'd be watching you" he stated as she glared at him. "Do you want to know what her last word was Katherine?" he asked as she shook her head. "She said your name Katie and then I stabbed her one last time and she died in that alley way all on her own" he laughed.

"Mommy" Alexis whispered.

"And now you're going to be your little girls…" he began before a shot rang out.

**So what do you think? Please review, your response was amazing with the previous chapter and I hope to hear from you all again. **

**Also Happy Independence Day to any one from America who is reading this! **


	14. Chapter 14

Watching in silence for a moment, Kate gasped as she felt Alexis' arms tightly wrap around her stomach before Kate smiled and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair slowly as she sighed and relaxed; not knowing what else to do as she felt the tears run down her cheeks. Her baby was back; her baby girl was back in her arms and she was never going to let her go! Leaning down, Kate quickly lifted the redhead into her arms as Alexis buried her face into Kate's shoulder and relaxed while Kate pressed a kiss into her hair, tears still filling her eyes as she kept her close to her body.

"I'm here baby, I'm here, no one's ever going to hurt you again" Kate whispered as she held Alexis in her arms, amazed at how light she felt, before slowly walking out of the room to see Rick sat up and resting against the wall with his eyes shut. "Shall we go?" Kate asked as she watched the writer open his eyes and stare at her for a moment before standing and walking towards her to kiss her. "I love you, you're never leaving me again" she whispered against his lips as he nodded and kissed her again. "I found you" she mumbled as the tears continued to run down her cheeks as Rick nodded and smiled across at Alexis who still had her face buried into Kate's shoulder. "Let's go home, Martha's probably still at the precinct waiting for us" she admitted as the writer nodded and stole another kiss as she laughed.

"I knew you'd find us Kate" Rick whispered as he brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face and stared at her for a moment. "I knew you'd find us Katie, I know you'd come and get us".

"Mommy, can we go home now please?" Alexis sobbed as Kate nodded and began to lead them towards the door, all three of them desperate to get out of here.

"Beckett" Javier called out, stopping her as she turned to look at him when the cop appeared in the doorway. "He wants to tell you something" he declared as she bit into her lip, still deciding whether to go to the man who killed her mother and tried to take her family away from her or to take her family back home where they would be safe.

"Mommy let's go home please, I want to go home now, I want to leave here now" Alexis whispered in Kate's ear as the brunette stared down at her daughter and smiled.

"Javi, I don't care, I'm taking my family home. Call an ambulance and see if they can save him" Kate stated as Rick smiled at her before groaning. "Are you okay Rick?" she asked quickly as he shook his head.

"My face hurts when I smile" he moaned as she laughed and kissed him gently before sighing and leading him out of the room. "Do you still think I'm handsome even though my face looks terrible?" he declared as she rolled her eyes and kissed him quickly before relaxing and staring at him for a moment.

"Richard Castle you're the most wonderful looking man in the world, bruises and all" she announced as he smiled and kissed her again. "Now let's go home, you two can see Martha and have a shower and I'll make you a home cooked meal and we'll just relax tonight" Kate declared as both Alexis and Rick nodded, excited to be going home finally.

XOOXOXOXOXOOXOX

Walking out of their bedroom while running his fingers through his hair, Rick smiled as he stood still for a moment and watched from a distance as Kate continued to prepare dinner. She was dressed in a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt with her dark hair pulled back and every few minutes she would run her hand to her stomach. Slowly walking towards her, Rick relaxed as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her stomach as she smiled and relaxed back against him, enjoying the warmth of his arms again.

"Tell me about the baby" he whispered as she shut her eyes and fell silent for a moment. "Tell me everything I've missed Kate" he begged as she smiled and moved her hands down to rest on top of his as tears filled her eyes.

"He hates the smell of coffee, I can't go near anyone with a coffee now" she stated as the writer smiled and pressed a kiss into her hair. "But it's so perfect Rick, I love the idea of our little baby growing inside me" she laughed as he continued to hold her close to him, enjoying the familiar smell of her cherry scented hair. "While you were gone, I used to lie in bed at night and just talk to our baby sometimes, I'd tell him all about you and Alexis and us, one night I told our baby our entire story right from that first coffee" she explained as the writer nodded and kissed her gently.

"You keep saying he?" he asked as she shrugged.

"Just a feeling I have" she admitted before moving her hands to continue with the cooking. "I think it's time that there was another male presence in this house, it's starting to become very female dominated" she stated as the writer nodded and turned her slowly so he could kiss her. "I missed you so much" she admitted as he wiped away the single tear that was running down her cheek.

"I missed you too, I missed you so much that it hurt" he declared as she nodded and kissed him again before they heard Alexis run towards them in her pyjamas with Rory the lion in her arms. "Hey pumpkin" Rick smiled as he lifted his daughter up so she could sit on the kitchen side. "Feeling better?" he asked as she nodded slowly and looked across at Kate who was beginning to serve the food. "Where's your gram Alexis?" he asked as Alexis bit into her lip for a moment, completely unaware of where the older redhead was.

"Her gram was getting changed" Martha stated as she walked out and smiled at them as shock covered Rick's face. His mother was in her pyjamas at seven o'clock at night! That was not normal!

"Martha I thought you had a performance tonight" Kate commented as she looked across at the older woman who shrugged.

"My family is back together again so I took the evening off to spend with you lot" she stated as Rick smiled and helped Alexis off the side before carrying through some of the food that Kate had prepared. "This looks wonderful darling" Martha commented as she sat down and smiled across at the brunette.

"Thank you Martha" Kate whispered gently before sitting down and cuddling up beside her husband who was sat down beside her, enjoying the feeling of her whole family, excluding her father, being present for the first time in what felt like forever. "I think everyone deserved a home cooked meal" she stated as Rick smiled across at her as Alexis stared down at the food. "You happy with pasta Lex?" Kate asked as the redhead nodded and began to eat quickly; shocking everyone with the speed she was eating at. "It's like you haven't eaten in weeks" Kate commented as Rick reached under the table and squeezed it. "Please tell me they fed you" she begged as everyone fell silent around the table as horror covered both Kate's and Martha's face. "I feel sick" she stated before standing up and excusing herself.

"Eat your dinner pumpkin" Rick smiled as he slowly walked away from the table and into the bedroom to see Kate curled up on their bed. "Sweetheart?" the writer asked as she slowly sat up and relaxed.

"I had this stupid idea in my head that they'd taken you away but they still looked after you Rick, I convinced myself that they'd at least tried to look after Alexis" she admitted as Rick moved to lie down beside her. "I'm so stupid, why would they have tried to look after you? Look at your face" she moaned as tears ran down her cheeks as the writer continued to hold her close as she cried. "I thought Alexis was lighter than normal" she admitted as she turned and buried her face into his chest as he pressed kisses into her hair. "You've been gone for almost four days Rick, you must be starving" she whispered as the writer stared at her.

"Katie, we had water and they gave us bread and Alexis had most of mine, she ate something and she's okay now" he soothed as she shook her head. "Sweetheart, we're home now and you can feed Alexis as much as you want" he smiled as she stared up at him. "We're just happy to be home right now" he admitted before kissing her gently. "Now come outside and eat, I think the only person who doesn't really need to eat is my mother" he laughed as Kate sat up and sighed before allowing him to pull her off the bed and lead her out of their room to see Alexis still eating at the table as Martha just laughed gently and smiled across at her son and daughter in law.

"Are you okay darling?" the redhead asked as she looked at Kate who nodded and smiled before staring down at her dinner.

XOOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXO

Watching as he walked out of the en-suite in silence dressed in a pair of dark blue pyjamas, Kate sighed as he sat down beside her and smiled at her before she shook her head and moved to touch the bottom of his t-shirt.

"Kate no" he whispered as she gently pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled at him.

"Trust me" she stated as she kissed him quickly before pulling the t-shirt off him as he remained silent. "Oh god" she mumbled as she stared at his bruised chest and the cuts that covered his skin. He'd clearly lost some weight and it made her feel sick. "Rick…" she whispered as she ran her fingers gently around each bruise, taking in how the majority of his body was now a dark purple colour. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked as he kissed her gently and moved to lie her down on the bed.

"I've missed you Kate, I've really missed you" he whispered as he moved to kiss down her neck as she smiled and held him close to her as he moved his hands to rest against her skin. "I love you" he stated as she laughed before a large scream echoed around the apartment.

"Alexis" Kate whispered as the writer moved away from her and watched as the brunette ran out of the bedroom. Running up the stairs, Kate sighed as she pushed the bedroom door open to see the redhead thrashing around in the middle of her bed. Sitting down beside her, Kate quickly ran her hands to Alexis' face as she tried to soothe her. "Alexis wake up" the brunette declared before pinning her down, trying not to hurt her but also trying desperately to stop herself from moving. "Alexis I'm here baby, it's time to wake up" Kate begged as the redhead slowly opened her eyes before tightly wrapping her arms around the brunette.

"I had a nightmare" Alexis admitted as Kate nodded and held her close while the redhead moved to cuddle up on Kate's lap. "I'm scared mommy" she whispered.

"I know baby, I know" Kate whispered as she gently pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair. "Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked as the redhead shook her head and remained silent. "Do you want to sleep in our bed tonight?" the brunette asked as Alexis nodded and clung to her as Kate stood up and began to carry her out of the room.

"Rory mommy, I need Rory" Alexis stated as Kate laughed and nodded, returning into the bedroom to see the toy lion lying on the floor. Picking it up, Kate smiled as she began to walk out of the bedroom again before going downstairs and entering her own bedroom to see the writer watching them nervously. "Daddy" Alexis yawned as Kate sat down and smiled as the redhead moved to cuddle her father as everyone lay down under the blanket.

"Lex I have a secret to tell you" Kate smiled as the redhead turned to look at her. "Can I have your hand for a second?" the brunette asked as Alexis nodded and allowed Kate to take hold of her hand. Moving her t-shirt up, Kate sighed as she slowly moved her daughter's hand across the small bump that was forming.

"Mommy you have a bump" Alexis stated as Kate nodded and smiled across at the writer who was watching her. "Why do you have a bump mommy? You never had one before" she asked as Kate leant down and pressed a kiss to Alexis' cheek.

"Because I'm going to have a baby Lex" she whispered in Alexis' ear as shock covered Kate's face. "You're going to be a big sister sweetheart" Kate smiled as Alexis squealed in excitement and kept her hand on Kate's stomach as Rick watched proudly.

"I'm going to be the best big sister mommy I promise, I'm going to teach them everything and no one is going to hurt them" she stated as Rick smiled and moved closer to both his daughter and wife who were now cuddled up together. "You're the best mommy in the world" Alexis whispered as Kate smiled and pressed a kiss into her hair as Rick ran his fingers across Alexis' shoulder. "And you're the best daddy" the redhead added as she turned to look at her father.

"Thanks pumpkin" Rick whispered before pressing a kiss into her hair as well and shutting his eyes as Kate continued to feel Alexis' small hand run across her bump.

"I love you baby, I'm going to be the best big sister you could ever want" Alexis whispered as Kate remained silent smiling.

**YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! THANK YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS, I FEEL SO LUCKY TO HAVE RECEIVED SO MANY AMAZING REVIEWS! **


	15. Chapter 15

"Kate I think we need to take her to see someone" Rick whispered as he entered the main bedroom to see Kate sat in the bed with Alexis fast asleep beside her, like most morning's for the last week and a half. "She hasn't slept in her own room since she's come home" the writer admitted as she looked down and began to run her fingers through Alexis' hair, just wanting to be close to her baby girl. "She doesn't leave your side, she won't go to school" he listed. "Kate she barely leaves the apartment now".

"Yes I know Rick, I know that she's not been herself" she declared as she smiled down at Alexis who moved and groaned while still remaining asleep. "Book her an appointment to see someone and we'll take her" he stated as she smiled and nodded, watching as he moved to sit down on the edge of the bed before leaning across to kiss her. "How are you feeling today?" he asked against her lips before Alexis groaned beside her before opening her eyes and cuddling into Kate's side as Kate grinned at her daughter's closeness. "Morning baby girl" Kate smiled as Rick stared down at their daughter.

"Morning pumpkin" Rick quickly added before relaxing to lie in the space beside Alexis as the redhead moved to look at them both with a small smile covering her face. "How are you feeling?" he asked as Alexis shrugged and buried her face into her father's side as Kate laughed and slid out of bed, her hand running to her stomach as she smiled. "Why don't we go out and do something fun today Lexi?" Rick asked as Alexis bit into her lip and remained silent. "We could go to the park or ice skating or we could go to the movies" he listed as Kate watched from the en-suite's doorway.

"Can't we stay home?" Alexis asked as Kate shut her eyes for a moment.

"Sweetheart we need to get out of the apartment, you especially need to get out of the apartment" he declared as he stared down at her with a small smile on his face. "No one's going to hurt you Lex, we won't let anyone hurt you" he admitted as Alexis wrapped an arm around him and remained silent. "Please sweetheart, even if it's just for a couple of hours" he begged, desperate to get her out of the house just for some time.

"I don't want to go out daddy, I want to stay here" Alexis stated, her voice determined as Kate walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed before sighing. "I want to stay here mommy, I don't want to go out" she declared, leaning across to kiss her forehead gently.

"Baby we'll all go out" she whispered as she stared at her daughter for a moment. "Why don't we go out to dinner tonight? That gives you all that time to calm down tonight and we'll invite everyone, with three cops there you'll be fine sweetheart" Kate declared as Alexis remained silent and nodded slowly, knowing that it was the best idea out of all of them.

"I'll call everyone then, where do you want to go eat tonight sweetheart?" the writer asked as Kate watched Alexis nod slowly before the brunette stood up again and smiled.

"Somewhere yummy" Alexis stated as both adults laughed at her response.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"How's Alexis doing?" Javier asked as he stared at the cop who was sat at her desk with her hands resting on her stomach. Turning her head to look at her friend, Kate sighed as she tried to think of an answer.

"She's getting better slowly, she's going to be better before we know it" Kate muttered. "We're going out for dinner tonight, everyone's invited" she declared as the cop nodded and smiled at her. "She has nightmares every night and she hasn't slept in her own bed since she's come home, Rick wants to send her to talk to someone about it" she admitted as the writer nodded and kissed her quickly. "She won't go back to school and Alexis loves school".

"She's just scared Kate, she'll get better before we know it" Javier whispered as she stared at him. "I know that Alexis will be fine because you and Rick are going to make her better" the cop stated as she smiled at him before nodding. "Just be there for her Kate and she'll be fine" he declared as she laughed and took hold of his hand for a moment.

"You'll be an amazing father one day Javi, your kids are going to be so lucky to have you as a dad" she stated as he shrugged at her comment, knowing that he wasn't thinking of children yet. "I'm just imagining little Lanie, Javier babies, they would be cute and so scary" she declared as he rolled his eyes at her before laughing.

"Don't tell Lanie that, she'll never let the idea go and I'm not having any babies yet for a while" he declared as she nodded in agreement before staring down at her baby bump. "Anyway, she'll have your baby to babysit for a while, she'll be kidnapping baby Castle as often as possible" he added as Kate laughed and ran her fingers across the bump that was becoming more obvious with every day.

"Well I'll probably be grateful for a babysitter when this one arrives" Kate sighed before shutting her eyes for a moment and relaxing back in her chair while Javier laughed at her. "How are things with you and Lanie going anyway? Taken any new steps since we last talked relationships" she asked as he sat down on the edge of her desk and watched her for a moment before sighing. "Javi, I need to know some gossip now".

"I'm thinking about asking Lanie to move in with me actually" he declared as shock covered her face at the idea. "You think it's a bad idea don't you Kate?" he moaned as she shook her head.

"No it's an amazing idea Rick" she declared as the cop laughed at her obvious excitement. "Your apartment will never be the same once Lanie moves in, she'll move everything around and redecorate" she laughed as horror covered his face.

"I thought you were supposed to be persuading me to ask her to move in, not scaring me from doing it" he declared as she shook her head and quickly took hold of his hand and squeezed it. "I think it would be nice to have her move in, we spend most of our time together anyway" he admitted as Kate nodded in agreement, knowing that Javier and Lanie were more serious than they made out to be.

"I'm so happy for you Javi" she squealed before looking at her pile of paperwork.

XOXOXOXOXXOXOXO

"You look pretty Lex" Kate smiled as she entered the apartment to see the redhead running towards her in the dress that Kate had bought her while they were gone. "I knew you'd look beautiful in this sweetheart but I didn't think you'd look this pretty" the brunette declared before lifting the redhead into her arms quickly before pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I think someone needs to do your hair though" she commented.

"Daddy said you would do it" Alexis stated as Kate nodded and moved to sit down before she reached across for a brush and began to run it through Alexis' hair slowly. "Did you catch any bad guys today?" the redhead asked as Kate smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of her daughter's head before beginning to tie her hair back into a plait. "Tell me about what you did today mommy" she begged.

"I'd rather hear about what you did with daddy today" Kate admitted as she finished Alexis' hair and tightly wrapped her arms around the little girl for a moment. "Come on tell me everything you did today" she begged as the redhead laughed and relaxed back against the cop.

"We read some books and we did some drawings and I had a nap and daddy wrote a bit of his new book" she explained as Kate nodded and watched as the writer walked out and smiled at her. "Do you need to get changed mommy?" Alexis asked as Kate nodded quickly, knowing that she needed to put something more comfortable on. Moving off Kate's lap, Alexis smiled as the brunette stood up and walked over to Rick before kissing him gently and smiling before disappearing into the main bedroom.

"Rick" Kate screamed out after a few moments of silence.

"What's the matter?" he called back as he heard something hit the bedroom door. "What was that?" he asked quickly.

"My jeans" she hissed as confusion covered his face. "They won't fit around my stomach" she moaned as the writer began to laugh. "Rick I wanted to come home, put on my favourite pair of jeans and a nice t-shirt and enjoy dinner and now I feel fat" she moaned as the writer looked across at his daughter who was now busy reading a book before moving into the bedroom to see Kate lying on the bed in just her underwear.

"Katherine Castle we need to talk" he stated as he shut the door and moved towards the bed to sit beside her. "You are not fat" he declared as he leant across to kiss her gently as she moaned against his lips. "You're not fat, you're accommodating our baby Katie, our beautiful baby is growing inside you and you're making the first nine months of his existence safe" he explained as he ran his hand across her bump.

"But I don't fit in my jeans" she muttered.

"That's because there your stupidly tight ass hugging jeans" he explained as she glared at him. "You just have to wait a while before wearing them again Katie" he declared before kissing her again and smiling as she moved her hand to join his. "Now go and put a nice dress or something nice that isn't a stupid tight thing and get out there so we can take our daughter out".

"Will you still love me if I'm fat?" she asked as he stood up and turned to look at her.

"If you say you're fat again Katherine, I'm going to seriously hurt you" he warned as she laughed and stood up before moving towards her wardrobe as the writer joined her and watched as she flicked through her clothing. "What about that one?" he asked as she shook her head and turned to the next dress. Taking out a dress, Rick smiled as he passed it to his wife who nodded and quickly pulled it on before looking in the mirror. "Happy?" he asked.

"Happy" she replied before he began to lead her out of the room.

XOOXOXOXOXXOXO

"Alexis" Lanie laughed as the redhead ran over and tightly wrapped her arms around the medical student who held her close for a moment. Holding her close, Lanie smiled as Kate walked in silently with Rick beside her with his arm tightly wrapped around her. "Hello you two" she smiled as both Kate and Rick nodded alone before sitting down. "You look nice Kate that dress looks amazing on you".

"I told you so" Rick smiled as Kate elbowed him in his side. "Kate's got it in her head that she's fat because she can't fit in her ass hugging jeans" he declared as Lanie glared across at the brunette who was now looking down at the menu, trying to ignore the conversation that was going on about her. "I think you're gorgeous" he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek gently as Kate rolled her eyes and laughed while Lanie, Alexis and Javier sat down. "Where are Jenny and Kevin?"

"I actually don't know" Javier admitted before smiling across at the doorway. "I think I found them" he laughed as the couple walked towards them with their fingers laced together.

"Don't they look cute" Lanie squealed as Rick laughed at the student's reaction. Smiling as he sat down beside his girlfriend, Kevin looked across at the rest of the group to see them all staring at him. "You two are almost as cute as our Mr and Mrs" she stated as Kevin rolled his eyes while Jenny blushed beside him while they laced their fingers under the table.

"Lanie stop embarrassing people" Javier warned as the woman glared up at him for a moment before kissing his cheek while Kate watched in amazement; knowing what was running through Javier's head. He was trying to work out whether he was ready to move in with his girlfriend, whether he was ready to take the next step in being committed to someone!

"So Lexi what do you want for dinner?" Kate asked as she turned to look at her daughter who was currently reading the menu in silence. Watching as the redhead pointed to what she wanted, Kate smiled as she nodded and heard a familiar laugh before she turned to see her father walking in with a laughing Martha. "Dad" Kate smiled as she stood up and tightly wrapped her arms around her father who pressed a kiss into her hair quickly while Martha sat down in the free seat behind her granddaughter.

"You look completely beautiful sweetheart" Jim commented as Rick smiled proudly up at his father and law and wife who were still hugging. "Please tell me we haven't already ordered because I'm starving" he declared as everyone shook their heads around the table before Kate and Jim sat down in their seats. "How are you feeling Alexis?" Jim asked as the redhead turned to look at him before nodding slowly. "And how's school?" he asked, falling silent when the seven year old looked down at the menu again.

"She hasn't been going" Rick admitted as Kate bit into her lip slowly, not wanting her father to get the wrong idea. She didn't want people to think she was a bad mother already! "This is the first time she's left the apartment actually" he whispered as he looked across at his daughter who was now talking to Lanie. "She's not been feeling too good since we've come home" he explained.

"Rick I understand" Jim stated as Kate clung onto her husband's hand underneath the table. "She's lucky to have such amazing parents who love her more than anything in the world" he added as he smiled across at the two adults who looked across at their daughter before the waitress walked over to take their orders.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"So how's pregnancy treating you Kate?" Martha asked as she smiled across at her daughter in law who was currently stealing fries from Rick's plate while the writer just glared at her, knowing better than to argue with her over food.

"It's okay although I'm going to need to go shopping soon for some clothes, my jeans aren't going to fit soon enough" she admitted as Rick wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"She still looks beautiful" Rick smiled as all the women around the table smiled at his comment. "You'll still as beautiful as the day I met you, actually I think you're more beautiful than the day I met you Kate" he declared as she rolled her eyes at him. "You grow more beautiful everyday Katherine" he smiled as she stared up at him before leaning up to kiss him while Javier and Kevin groaned when the kissing began to turn into making out.

"Keep it child friendly people" Kevin declared as he covered Alexis' eyes with his hands while Kate pulled away from the writer and smiled. Laughing as everyone relaxed, Kate smiled as she cuddled into Rick's side again while Javier looked across at Lanie before digging into his pocket, his elbow knocking into the medical student who quickly hit his shoulder.

"Watch what you're doing" she hissed as he quickly held a key out in front of her. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's a key" he commented as she nodded.

"I know it's a key Javier, why are you dangling it in front of my face?" she asked quickly as everyone watched them in silence. "Javier will you stop holding that in front of my face?" she moaned as she hit it away from her face as Kate laughed at the interaction.

"Javi just ask her because otherwise she'll hurt you" Kate warned as Lanie turned to look at her in confusion.

"What's going on? Ask me what?" the medical student asked as panic covered her face.

"Lanie move in with me?" Javier asked as shock replaced the panic as he held the key in front of her again. "I want you to move in with me" he stated as she bit into her lip for a moment as everyone watched them, waiting to hear the answer. "Come on, you wouldn't have to sneak out of bed early in the morning to change clothes before college and we wouldn't have to constantly change apartments every day. It would be easier and a lot more fun Lanie" he declared as shock continued to cover her face as she took everything in. "I'll even let you redecorate" he added as her shock turned into a smile.

"You'd let me redecorate?" she asked as he nodded. "You'd even let me remove that disgusting coffee table of yours?" she asked as he remained perfectly still. "You know I hate that coffee table".

"I know you do but I love it Lanie" he moaned as everyone continued to watch them. "It's my coffee table" he begged as Kate laughed at them.

"For god's sake Lanie, are you going to move in with him or not?" Kate asked as the medical student laughed at her friend's reaction.

"Yes I'll move in with you Javi, it might be fun actually" Lanie answered as Javi laughed before leaning down and kissing her gently as everyone cheered in excitement. "I've never moved in with anyone before, it'll be fun actually Javi" she declared as he beamed and kissed her again while Kate smiled up at her husband who was beaming at her.

"They're growing up Katie, soon they'll be married and having little Esposito babies. Our baby could have a play mate" Rick laughed as she nodded and relaxed in his arms as they continued to watch Lanie squeal over the key she was now holding.

**So what do you think? **


	16. Chapter 16

Waiting outside the room, Kate sighed as she looked across at her husband who was nervously tapping his foot on the floor while waiting to see what the doctor thought about Alexis who was currently had been talking to him for almost an hour. Reaching across, the brunette smiled as she took hold of her husband's hand and squeezed it for a moment before leaning across to kiss his cheek gently.

"She'll be fine, she's got a lot to talk about Rick. She was standing right there when I shot a man" Kate stated as he nodded slowly, standing up the moment the door opened and Alexis ran out and wrapped her arms around her father who gently ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying having her back in his arms.

"Mr and Mrs Castle, can I talk to you for a moment in private?" the psychiatrist asked as Kate nodded and watched as Rick knelt down to gently press a kiss to his daughter's forehead before asking her to wait for him. Entering the office with Rick by her side, Kate sighed as she stared at the older man for a moment before sitting down beside her husband who was nervously waiting for the other man to tell him something about his daughter.

"You have a very clever daughter" he stated as Kate and Rick smiled happily, knowing that Alexis was bright. "And she's very excited about becoming a big sister, that's all she talked about for the first ten minutes" he explained as Kate laughed and ran her hand to her stomach; knowing that Alexis was excited. Most of their evenings were now spent on the couch with Alexis telling Kate about all the things that she was going to teach her baby brother or sister. "But after a while she began to tell me about everything that happened with the bad man who you shot" he commented as he looked across at Kate.

"That's what we needed her to talk about" Kate admitted as he nodded.

"I was wondering if you could tell me more about it, I'd like to have a complete understanding of the event" he explained as Kate looked down and nodded slowly.

"A man threatened Alexis so I sent her and Rick away for a while until they were safe, unfortunately the man who threatened her, Dick Coonan, found out where they were and kidnapped him" Kate admitted as a tear ran down her cheek. "Bloody hormones" she hissed as Rick laughed and wrapped an arm around her as she relaxed against him.

"We were taking to a run-down apartment and Alexis saw me getting kicked about and also she was fed hardly anything, a few pieces of bread a day" he admitted as the psychiatrist nodded, taking in all the information they were telling him. "Then after five or six days, Kate came with her partners and I was unconscious" he declared before turning to look at his wife who was still looking down nervously at her stomach. "So I'm not particularly clear on what happened next" he admitted.

"Coonan was holding Alexis and had a gun to her temple, he was saying all these things and he was going to shoot her so I shot him first" Kate stated, not even trying to look up as she said it. "He was dying behind her and I don't even want to imagine how badly it affected her" she said quietly as tears filled her eyes. "Alexis is normally a really confident little girl, she adores school but she hasn't been back since it happened and she won't sleep in her own bed because she has nightmares so she's been sleeping in ours" she explained as the man nodded again. "We just want to get her back into her normal regime but she hardly leaves the house now and it's starting to become a problem" she explained.

"Well I'm going to have a few more sessions with Alexis fortnightly to talk through everything with her and we'll see what we can do to make her feel more confident" he explained as both Kate and Rick nodded before relaxing back, knowing they'd someone who could deal with Alexis' problems. "I think getting Alexis back in her own room and back at school are our most important problems" he added.

"Defiantly" Rick smiled as he squeezed Kate's hand and grinned at her. "Thank you for talking to Alexis, it's really important to us that she gets back into her regime because she usually is very strict when it comes to a schedule" Rick explained as the older man smiled and nodded.

"There is something else I forget to tell you" he declared as they both watched them. "It's about you Mrs Castle" he stated, looking across at Kate who watched him nervously. "Alexis is very scared about you not coming home one day, she kept mentioning how she was scared that a bad man would take you away from her" he explained as Kate bit into her lip. Alexis was scared about her dying?

"Thank you for telling us" Rick declared before standing up and keeping hold of Kate's hand as she remained silent and followed him towards the door. "We'll see you in two weeks" he admitted before leaving the office with Kate. "It's going to be okay Kate" he whispered in her ear as they stared across at Alexis who was sat in the chair swinging her legs.

"She's a little girl, she shouldn't be worrying about a bad man taking me away one day" she declared as he nodded in agreement before Alexis squealed at the sight of them before she stood up and ran over to them. "Lex, do you want to come shopping with me today?" Kate asked as the redhead nodded and clung onto her free hand while Rick watched them proudly.

"Am I allowed to come shopping?" the writer asked as Kate shook her head.

"It's girly shopping, no men allowed Rick" Kate declared as the seven year old nodded in agreement before smiling. "You can do some writing instead, seeing that your editor will be calling soon to ask why you're so behind" she smirked as the writer groaned at her before leaning across to kiss her lightly.

"I should go then, I'll see you two later" he moaned as the brunette nodded and squeezed Alexis' hand before the writer leant down to place a kiss in his daughter's hair before waving goodbye and walking out of the office.

"Shall we go shopping sweetheart?" Kate asked as Alexis nodded in agreement.

XOXOOXOXXOXOXOXO

"Sweetheart there's something I want to talk to you about" Kate admitted as they sat in the small diner sharing a large chocolate milkshake. "You told the man you met this morning that you were scared about me being taken away by a bad man" she declared as Alexis looked down and nodded slowly. "Can we talk about that?" she asked as Alexis shrugged.

"I don't want you to ever leave us mommy" the redhead admitted as Kate smiled weakly.

"I'm never going to purposefully leave you Alexis, you know I love you baby" she explained as the redhead nodded slowly. "All I want in the world is be with your daddy and you and the baby" she said quietly as Alexis nodded again, not knowing what to say in response. "But one day I might get hurt at work" she mumbled, hating that she was discussing this with her seven year old. "But even if I go away, I'm always going to love you baby and I'm always going to be in your heart" she stated as the redhead stared at her in shock. "And no matter where I am, I'm going to be there to watch over you".

"Promise?" Alexis asked quietly.

"I promise Lex, I'll always be here with you sweetheart" Kate smiled before looking at the milkshake. "Now drink up" Kate laughed as Alexis gigged and nodded quickly. "Now what do you want to go shopping for?" she asked.

"I don't know, I don't really want anything" the redhead admitted as Kate laughed and ran her hand across her stomach. "Could we go and look at baby stuff?" she asked as Kate smiled and nodded in agreement, already liking the idea. "We don't need to buy anything mommy, we can just have a look for nice things for my baby brother".

"Why are you so determined that I'm having a boy sweetheart?" she asked.

"Because I want a baby brother and if I wish hard enough, I'll get one" the redhead declared as Kate nodded, smiling at the redhead's innocence. "Mommy when do you go and have another scan thing?" she asked.

"Scan thing?" Kate questioned.

"You know mommy, where you go and see what the baby looks like and get that funny picture" she explained as Kate laughed and nodded, finally understanding what the seven year old was talking about.

"I have another scan in a couple of week's sweetheart" Kate said happily as Alexis bit into her lip for a moment. "What's the matter Lex?" she asked quickly.

"Could I come with you and see what the baby looks like too?" she asked as Kate nodded quickly. "Daddy says you can hear the baby's heartbeat too" she admitted as Kate beamed, excited that Alexis wanted to be completely involved in her sibling. "I want to hear the baby's heartbeat too mommy, I want to hear my baby brother or sister too" she declared.

"Next time you can come with me and daddy to see the baby sweetheart, I'd like you to come actually" Kate promised as Alexis beamed before taking another sip of the chocolate milkshake while Kate watched happily.

XXOXOXOXOOXXOOXO

"Tell me about how you fell in love with daddy" Alexis asked as they sat in the park together, watching as other people ran around squealing in excitement.

"But I've told you this story a million times" Kate laughed as she looked at the redhead for a moment who shrugged.

"It's my favourite story though mommy" Alexis admitted as Kate smiled and ran her hands to her bump. "And it'll be baby's favourite story too" she added as Kate relaxed and stared at her daughter for a moment.

"Well I first met your daddy in a coffee shop where he was writing and I had been abandoned by my friends and he decided to come and sit with me to keep me company" Kate began as Alexis nodded, knowing the story off by heart. "At the end of our talk though he gave me his phone number and asked me to call him if I wanted to see him again, which of course I did, so the moment I got home I ran into my bedroom and called him" she explained as Alexis giggled lightly. "So your daddy and I went for a Chinese and he gave me the book he was working on and asked me to read it and I spent the whole night reading it because it was so good and I was desperate to get to the end so I could also see your daddy again" she smiled.

"Did you like the book?" Alexis asked.

"Alexis Castle, you know that I adore every single book your father's written" she smiled. "Although your daddy won't let me read anything else" Kate declared as Alexis nodded, both of them nodding as they remembered the time he'd caught her reading one of Patterson's book and ended up throwing it out of the front door.

"Go on with the story mommy" Alexis ordered as Kate smiled, knowing that Alexis wouldn't let Kate finish until one particular part of the story.

"So we went for dinner a lot and then one day he invited me around to watch the game and that's the day that I met you" Kate smiled as the redhead beamed in excitement. "What did we do on the first day that we met Alexis?" Kate asked as Alexis bit into her lip for a moment.

"We made pizza mommy" Alexis cheered as Kate nodded, remembering flour covered hair and a lot of laughter.

"We did indeed Lex" she smiled before laughing and wrapping her arms around her daughter who relaxed back against her. "And then after we had dinner, you went to have a bath because you were covered in pizza dough" she admitted as Alexis smiled, Kate knowing that this was her daughter's favourite part of the story. "And I was with your daddy all alone in the kitchen and that's when he kissed me for the first time" she smiled. "And it was magical and the fairy tale kiss and that's when I began to completely fall in love with your dad".

"When did you tell daddy that you loved him?" Alexis asked.

"On our first holiday in the Hamptons, we were sat on the beach and we wrote it in the sand. It was the most romantic moment in my life" Kate admitted as she felt her cheeks go red with embarrassment. She'd told this story to Alexis a million times and yet she always got embarrassed when it came to telling her how cheesy it had been. "Right come on, we should go home before your dad starts worrying about us" she declared as she stood up and took hold of Alexis' hand again.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Here they are, I was beginning to get worried actually" Rick smiled as he watched Kate and Alexis walked into the apartment with large smiles on their faces. "Did you have fun?" he asked as both nodded before walking towards him, Alexis' arms quickly wrapping around her father while Kate gently pressed a kiss to his lips. "I was thinking Chinese for dinner" he declared as the brunette nodded.

"I think that sounds perfect actually" Kate smiled as she moved away from him. "We went to look at baby things today didn't we Lex?" the brunette explained as Rick stared at them for a moment. "We saw a really nice crib actually" she admitted as the writer nodded at her comment. "It would be perfect for our baby's room" she declared as he smiled.

"Then we'll go and buy one soon" he agreed as she leant across to kiss him. "Lexi why don't you go and have a bath and get into your pyjamas?" he explained as the redhead nodded and quickly ran upstairs out of sight. "She seems happy" he commented as Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and squealed when he lifted her onto the kitchen side.

"We had a nice day, we looked around the shops and went to the park and we talked" Kate admitted as the writer nodded quickly, staring at her as she smiled gently at him, her fingers running across his face as he watched her. "We talked about what the psychiatrist said about me dying" she whispered as the writer leant forward and kissed her gently.

"And what did she say?" he asked.

"She was nervous at the start but we soon started talking and I told her that even if one day I went away, I would always be with her and that seemed to make her feel better" she admitted as the writer smiled at her before leaning across to kiss her gently as she smiled against his lips. "She's going to get better Rick, she's going to be our beautiful confident little girl before we know it" she promised as the writer nodded and gently kissed her again before his hands moved to her baby bump.

"I'm glad you took her out today, she needed some girl time with her mommy today" he declared as she nodded and kissed him again; desperate to be close to him for a moment while they were alone. She hadn't been able to touch him or cuddle him in bed because Alexis had been sleeping in-between them for what felt like forever. "I can't wait for Alexis to go back to her own bed" he admitted. "Does that make me sound like a bad father?" he asked quickly as she laughed and shook her head.

"Of course not" she moaned before stealing another kiss. "I kind of want her back in her own bed too" she admitted as they laced their fingers together. "It'll be nice to cuddle… naked… after sex…after lots and lots of sex" she whispered against his lips as he laughed.

"You know me so well Mrs Castle" he commented as she beamed before kissing him again. "I think the best decision I've ever made in my whole life was to marry you Katherine Castle, you're the most wonderful thing in my life except for Alexis" he declared.

"Well I'm glad I married you too Richard" she laughed before they both heard footsteps and turned to see Alexis running towards them with drenched hair and her fluffy white dressing gown on. "Look at you, you look lovely and comfy in your dressing gown sweetheart" she stated as the redhead nodded before moving to grab a hairbrush and sit on the couch silently while Kate just laughed for a moment at the small girls actions. "Are you going to order that Chinese?" she asked.

"It depends, how hungry are you today?" he questioned as she rolled her eyes. "Normal Chinese amount or pregnancy Chinese amount?" he asked.

"Defiantly pregnancy Chinese amount" she laughed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Random question, do tell me if I'm being paranoid but are you guys still enjoying this? Reviews are very up and down at the moment and I'm starting to worry about whether you guys are still interested in the story! Anyway, hopefully you enjoy this chapter!**

"If she asks do we want to know the baby's sex Rick?" Kate asked quickly as she turned to look at her husband as they waited for the woman to walk in and join them before starting the scan. Looking across at Alexis who was patiently waiting in another chair, Rick smiled as he slowly moved to watch his wife before moving his hand to her bump. "I want to know Rick but I can wait until the baby's born if you don't want to know" she explained as he shook his head and smiled at her.

"I want to know Katie, I want to know whether we're having a boy or a girl too. I think it's important to know what we're having" he explained as she nodded and kissed him gently as the doctor walked in and smiled at them.

"Good morning Kate, Rick" she declared as they both nodded hello at her before she turned to look at Alexis. "And you must be Alexis, I've heard a lot about you" she smiled as the redhead nodded and beamed up at her before moving slightly closer to her father. "Now shall we check on your baby? See how the youngest Castle is getting on?" she asked as Kate laughed and nodded, knowing that was what she wanted more than anything. Lifting up her shirt, Kate sighed as she felt the cold gel on her stomach again before the scan started; the sound of their baby's heartbeat echoing around the room as Alexis laughed.

"Can you see the baby Lex?" Kate asked as the redhead shook her head and watched as the doctor slowly ran her finger around the image to show where the baby was. "Can you see it now?" Kate questioned, wanting her daughter to be able to understand everything that was going on. Beaming when Alexis nodded, Kate relaxed back as she realised that everyone understood what was going on and where the baby was.

"Is that the baby's heartbeat daddy?" Alexis asked the writer who quickly nodded and smiled at her before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It's so loud" the redhead commented as Rick laughed.

"That's because the baby is really strong, right?" Rick asked as he turned to look at the doctor who nodded in agreement before smiling.

"Your baby is defiantly strong" she declared as Kate nodded in agreement, unable to take her eyes off the screen as she stared at the image of her new born. "Now the most important question, do you want to know whether you're having a boy or a girl?" she asked as Kate bit into her lip for a moment.

"We want to know" Kate stated as Rick and Alexis both nodded in agreement. Watching as the woman stared at the screen, Kate felt her nerves build up as she waited for an answer. Was she having a boy or a girl?

"Congratulations Rick, Kate, you're going to have a little boy" the woman stated as Alexis and Rick cheered while Kate laughed. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you all wanted a baby boy then" she stated as everyone nodded in agreement.

"We're trying to balance things in the house, at the moment it's very female dominated" he stated as Kate rolled her eyes, although understanding how much they had all wanted a boy. "Wow, we're going to have a son Kate" he stated as the brunette just watched the screen in shock. She was having a baby boy- she was going to have a son!

XOXOOXOXOOXOXO

"Why do you own so much stuff?" Kate moaned as she carried one of Lanie's boxes into Javier's apartment as the medical student laughed and shrugged, not knowing how she'd gained this much stuff over the years. "And the majority of it is clothes and shoes, you could open a store with all this stuff" the brunette declared as she placed the box on Javier's bed before sitting down and watching as the medical student kicked the door shut and stared at the sea of boxes that were filling the room.

"Is this really just clothes and shoes?" she asked quickly as Kate nodded, smiling when her friend began to laugh before walking towards the wardrobe and opening it to see minimal space in Javier's. "How am I supposed to fit all my clothes in here?" she declared as Kate shrugged and listened as the door creaked open before they both turned to see Rick standing in the pizza.

"Are you going to work in here then?" he asked as both women nodded. "Well we're going to do the rest of the place; we'll probably get it all done before you even finish in here by the look of all your boxes" Rick laughed as Kate rolled her eyes at his comment before smiling and running her hand to her stomach. Her baby boy was in there! Her perfectly healthy baby boy was safely inside her! "Oh Lanie, Javi says that if you even think about binning any of his clothes, you'll be sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life" he explained as the medical student glared at him for a moment. "He says you can have the rest of the wardrobe space".

"Yeah, the minimal amount he's left me. I could probably fit about four things in there" she declared as Javier peered around the door and stared at his girlfriend. "Move some of your clothes Javier or I'll bin whatever I think is disgusting to make space for my clothes" she stated as he glared across at her.

"Touch my clothes and you'll be becoming good friends with the couch Lanie Parish" he warned as Kate rolled her eyes and moved towards the wardrobe.

"I know how to answer this whole thing without anyone sleeping on the couch" Kate declared as silence filled the room. "Javi, some of the clothes you're hanging up can easily be folded up instead" she explained as the man moaned gently before nodding. "Now leave and go and do everything else, we'll sort out in here" she stated as the man groaned before nodding and walking out of sight as Kate smiled across at her husband who was still watching her. "What?" she asked.

"You're sexy when you tell people what to do Kate" he declared as she rolled her eyes and walked towards the door to push him out of the room before laughing. "Have fun" he smiled before rolling her eyes and watching as she slowly shut the door and turned to see Lanie staring at her with a small smile covering her face.

"Shall we get on with it then?" Lanie asked as Kate nodded and moved towards the bed to sit down and lift up one of Lanie's boxes. "Even if we do fold some of his clothes, I don't think all my clothes are going to fit" she moaned as Kate rolled her eyes and began to lift out a dress as horror covered her face.

"Well that's one less thing that needs to go in there" Kate commented.

"What?" Lanie asked in shock.

"Lanie this is disgusting" Kate declared as she held the bright pink dress up in front of the medical student. "You've never worn this and you never will, it's horrid" she stated as Lanie bit into her lip before nodding slowly and moaning dramatically as Kate threw it to the floor.

XOOXOXOOXOXOOXO

"So how did the scan this morning go?" Jenny asked as she set the pizzas on the coffee table and smiled across at Kate who was sat in-between Rick's legs while their hands rested on her stomach.

"Did you find out the sex?" Lanie immediately asked as Kate laughed and nodded while Rick pressed a kiss into her hair. "Come on tell us" she begged as the brunette smiled and turned to look at the writer who nodded, giving her the confidence and the permission she felt like she needed in order to tell their friends. "Are we having a Castle or a Beckett?" she asked quickly as Kate giggled again before relaxing back, enjoying watching all her friends squirm.

"We're having a boy" Kate squealed as Lanie and Javier cheered while Kevin groaned. "So I'm guessing that Javi and Lanie won the bet that we're not supposed to know about" Kate stated as she looked across at the writer who nodded slowly, the two adults enjoying watching their friends begin to fall silent as they realised they were busted.

"What? The bet about the sex of the baby?" he asked as Kate nodded, the two of them reciting the words they'd been practicing on the whole way to Javier's apartment. "Because Kate, I was kind of confused over which bet we were discussing mainly because there's so many" he stated as she nodded. "Such as when you're going to give birth; before or after the due date".

"And what time the baby will be delivered" she listed.

"And the weight of the baby" he added.

"Oh and of course how long the labour will be" she declared before they both turned to look around at their friends who were now staring down, knowing better than to look at Kate Beckett when she was angry at them. "So who's won the most money out of everyone?" she stated as they all mumbled a name quietly. "I'm sorry we didn't hear that" Kate declared, her voice slightly angrier as everyone looked up at her.

"Martha" they all stated as Rick laughed.

"Go my mother" Rick smiled as Kate nodded and shook her head, knowing that her friends were still shocked that they'd known about their betting all along.

XOOXOXOXXOXOXOXO

"So Alexis told me that I'm going to have a grandson" Martha declared as Kate and Rick entered the apartment with a massive smile covering both their faces. "So how is my grandson? Is he healthy and perfect and everything lovely?" the older redhead asked as the writer nodded and rested his hand on Kate's stomach. "Well congratulations darlings, I know you both secretly wanted a boy" she declared as Kate nodded and quickly looked around to see that the younger redhead wasn't present.

"Where's Alexis?" Kate asked quickly.

"Fast asleep in her own bed" Martha said proudly as Kate slowly moved out of Rick's arm and began to move towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Rick asked quickly as Kate smiled and looked at him for a moment.

"I'm going to say goodnight to our daughter and then I'm going to bed because I'm exhausted" she smiled before disappearing up the stairs. Approaching Alexis' bedroom, Kate sighed as she pushed the door open and found herself staring at the redhead who was lying in the middle of her bed fast asleep in her pyjamas with her arm tightly wrapped around her toy lion. Walking towards her bed, Kate smiled as she leant down and pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead before smiling gently.

"Sleep well Lex, sleep well" Kate whispered before standing and walking out of the bedroom to see Rick waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "She's fast asleep Rick" Kate beamed as the writer nodded and wrapped his arms around her tightly as she relaxed in his arms. "She's back in her own bed, she's finally back in her own bed".

"I guess therapy's working then" he declared before kissing her gently and smiling down at her. "Want to go to bed Mrs Castle and celebrate?" he asked as she nodded quickly.

"Yes please, that sounds absolutely fantastic" she laughed as the writer lifted her into his arms, amazed that the brunette wasn't fighting him. "Let's see whether she can do a whole night in there" she whispered before pressing a kiss to his cheek and relaxing in his arms as he carried her towards their bedroom; both of them knowing that Martha had gone to work for the evening and they were now practically alone.


	18. Chapter 18

"I think we should plan our little boy's name" Kate declared as she sat in between her husband's legs and reached across for the piece of paper and pen that was waiting beside their bed. Rick always kept a piece by the bed for any crazy ideas that came into his head in the middle of the night. Watching as Kate wrote 'baby names' across the top of the page, Rick smiled as he rested his hands on her bump and pressed a kiss into the back of her hair. "Baby names, hit me with ideas writer man" she ordered as he laughed and held her tighter.

"Johnny" he suggested as she groaned and turned to look at him for a moment.

"No Richard, we're not naming our baby Johnny Castle after Dirty Dancing" she warned as he nodded again, knowing that it was a silly idea. "Our Castle is going to be original, he's not going to be named after the dancer in a really sexy movie" she admitted as she stared down at where his hands were resting. "What about the name Harry? I kind of like that one" she smiled as he nodded and watched as she scribbled down the name. "Your turn" she laughed as he nodded and fell silent, trying to think of a name that would be beat Kate's suggestion.

"Aaron, I think Aaron's a cool name for a boy. Aaron Castle" he declared before kissing her quickly and cheering when she wrote the next name down. "I think we're good at this, we didn't have a name for Alexis until she was almost four days old. Meredith and I argued about everything" he moaned as Kate shook her head and glared across at him. "What have I done now?" he asked.

"Never ever ever mention your ex-wife in this bed again Richard or there will be trouble" she warned as he nodded and leant across to kiss her gently as she smiled against his lips.

"I'm so happy that we're doing this together sweetheart" Rick smiled as she nodded in agreement. "We're going to do everything together Kate I promise, baby names, baby shopping, maternity clothes, no coffee, we're doing this together" he stated as she nodded and kissed him before groaning and moving off the bed. "Where are you going Mrs Castle?" he asked quickly.

"To do the one thing I don't need you for Richard, I need to pee" she stated as he laughed and watched as she disappeared into the en-suite, slamming the door behind her as the writer climbed out of bed and walked out of the bedroom to make breakfast for his mother and daughter. Pouring a glass of orange juice, Rick smiled as he heard Kate walking towards him before he turned to see the brunette staring at him.

"Making breakfast?" she asked as he nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead before moving away to help make breakfast. "My dad called me when I was at work yesterday" she said quietly as he nodded and placed the bread into the toaster before turning to look at her. "He wants me to go over tonight" she admitted as he nodded and continued to watch her, knowing that she hadn't finished telling him everything. "It's there anniversary and he kind of wants father and daughter time, so I'm going to go over and maybe you could do something special with Lex. I think she deserves father and daughter time too" she declared before walking towards him and gently kissing him. "You'll cope without me for one night?" she asked as he nodded.

"Today's an important day for your dad, he'll need you" he whispered against her lips as she nodded and kissed him gently.

"I'm so lucky to have a husband like you Rick, you deserve so much better" she declared as he shook his head and lifted her up so she was seated on the kitchen side. "But I'm glad that you fell in love with me Rick, you're everything to me and I'm so excited about our baby boy" she whispered as she ran her fingers across his cheeks before leaning down to kiss him.

"Good morning darlings, I'm not interrupting am I?" Martha practically sung as she entered the kitchen, her voice pulling the couple away from each other as they forced smiles onto their faces. "And I see that you two are as sweet as ever, I could get cavities just watching you" she beamed as Rick rolled his eyes and turned to gently press a kiss to his mother's cheek.

"Good morning mother, now stop embarrassing my wife" he declared as the redhead shrugged and smiled at Kate who grinned at her before moving off the kitchen side. "Where do you think you're going Katherine Castle?" he asked as Kate rolled her eyes and stared at him.

"I'm going for a shower, I need to go to work and then I need to go to dad's and I want to be hygienic for both so I'm sorry if it doesn't work with your plans" she stated as the writer moved towards her before kissing her lightly before nodding, knowing that his mother had embarrassed her. Watching as she disappeared into their bedroom, Rick sighed as he heard the toaster pop before he began to prepare Alexis' bedroom, a laugh leaving his lips when his daughter finally ran downstairs and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's just you and me tonight Lex, what are we going to do?" Rick asked quickly as he finished Alexis' toast and past the plate to her; laughing when she thanked him and disappeared to eat at the table. "I did want an answer for my question sweetheart" he stated as she nodded and stared up at him. "Give me some ideas pumpkin, it's just you and me tonight" he declared as the redhead hummed, trying to work something out for herself.

"We could build a fort and watch movies daddy" Alexis suggested as Rick beamed.

"That's a perfect idea pumpkin, a wonderful idea actually" he declared as Rick smiled and relaxed back.

XOOXOXOXOXOXOO

"Hey daddy" Kate smiled as she entered her father's homes and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck as he laughed and held her close for a moment as she looked across at the room where all the furniture was covered in pictures and letters. "What's all this?" she asked as she moved away from him and watched as her father walked towards the paper covered couch.

"The photos are obviously photos Katie and the letters are things I used to write to your mother" he admitted as she smiled and leant down to lift one up. Slowly reading across the poem that her father had written, Kate felt the shock cover her face as she turned to look at him. "I used to write her all these silly things, I just wanted her to love me and in the end she did" he explained as Kate moved a few objects off the chair before she sat down and continued to hold the letter. "She kept every single one, I didn't even know until we moved in together and I found this old box on the bedside table. She wouldn't tell me at first but she soon trusted me enough" he admitted as Kate smiled.

"You were so romantic daddy" Kate smiled as he shrugged.

"I had my days Kate, I wasn't always completely useless" he smiled as she nodded and watched him for a moment as he stared at an image. "So how's my grandchild treating you?" he asked as she laughed and ran her hand to her stomach for a moment.

"Your grandson is treating me perfectly" she declared as shock covered his face. "I've been trying to get hold of you to tell you daddy but I haven't been able too, you either been out with your friends or doing other things and I really wanted to tell you in person" she explained, hoping her father wouldn't be angry because she hadn't told him when she found out. "I'm having a little boy; you're going to have a grandson to spoil".

"As well as a granddaughter" he stated as she smiled, knowing that her father adored Alexis. "How's she doing since the whole thing?" he asked quickly as she smiled gently at him. "I know she was sleeping in your bed for a while and she wasn't at school either" he declared as she nodded, remembering everything.

"She's been seeing a therapist and things have gotten a lot better, she's in her own bed, she goes to school now and she's enjoying it again. Sometimes she gets scared when a car backfires or Rick and I watch a programme with guns in but we're getting there daddy" she smiled gently as the older man nodded, glad to hear that his favourite redhead was recovering. "She's having a night with her dad too while I spend the evening with you" she added as he laughed.

"Well I better call for some Chinese then because I have to make sure my grandson is safe and healthy. I know you forget to eat meals sometimes" he declared as she rolled her eyes and watched as he moved to grab the take out menu. "So what do you want to do tonight?" he asked as she sighed, knowing that her father was attempting to remain positive even though it was obvious he was struggling. There were dark marks under his eyes and tearstains scarring his skin and she hated seeing him so lost!

"Maybe we could watch your wedding video, I used to love watching it as a kid" she explained as the older man nodded and slowly dialled the phone number for the local Chinese. "It was like the perfect fairy tale when I was a kid daddy, I used to watch it and dream that I'd be as happy as you were with my mom" she smiled as he looked at her in amazement, a small smile covering his face as she beamed at him. "I was completely in love with your fairy story".

"Kate it wasn't a fairy stole…" he began before the Chinese answered the phone. Listening to her father recite their usual order, the brunette relaxed back in her chair as he put the phone after finishing before smiling at her. "It was simply a boy meeting a girl and falling completely in love with her" he stated as he walked towards her and pressed a kiss to her forehead before sitting down on the couch.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"This is my favourite bit of the whole thing" Kate laughed as she watched her parents walked down the aisle as a married couple before a father began to trip and recorded laughter filled the room as Jim rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe you tripped over and managed not to pull mom down with you, that's talent" she stated as Jim groaned and relaxed back into the chair. Hearing the phone ring, Kate sighed as she moved off the chair; the older man laughing at her batman pyjamas as she grabbed the phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Mommy it's me, it's Alexis" the redhead cheered down the line as Kate laughed and nodded.

"Hey sweetheart" Kate beamed, sitting herself down on the edge of the couch as she turned to look at the screen to see people throwing confetti over her beaming parents. "Are you having fun with daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah, we were watching movies in our fort but daddy's asleep now and he's snoring really loudly mommy" she stated as confusion covered Kate's face while she laughed at her comment of Rick, how had Alexis managed to call her? "Grams helped me call you, she said I should say goodnight before I try and get some sleep" the redhead declared as Kate nodded slowly, glad that her little girl had called her. She'd missed Alexis! She'd missed the seven year old like crazy! It was strange not saying goodnight to her with a hug and a kiss.

"I love you baby" Kate blurted out as the redhead giggled. "And I miss you and I promise I'll be there the moment you wake up in the morning" the brunette stated before she heard Alexis yawn down the line. "You should go to sleep baby, it's late and you've had a busy day at school" Kate declared as the redhead moaned.

"But I miss you mommy" the seven year old moaned.

"I miss you too baby but I'm at my daddy's tonight but I promise I'll be home first thing in the morning" Kate smiled as the redhead remained silent. "I love you Lex" Kate added as she heard Alexis giggle lightly. "Do you still love me?" she asked quickly.

"Of course I still love you mommy" the redhead cheered as Kate laughed and looked across at her father who was smiling at her.

"Look sweetheart, it's bedtime for mommy and the baby as well so you have to go to bed" she stated as Alexis sighed, her frustration obvious at being told to go to bed. "Goodnight baby" Kate whispered.

"Goodnight mommy" Alexis smiled before they hung up and Kate moved to sit beside her father who tightly wrapped his arm around her as she yawned and rested against him, her eyes shutting for a brief moment as her father's hand run up and down her arm.

"You're a good mommy Katie" he commented as she smiled at what he'd said. "Your mom would be so proud of you" he whispered as Kate remained close to him, not wanting to move out of the safety of her father's arms.

"She'd been proud of you too daddy, for everything you've done for Rick and Alexis and for stopping the drinking" she stated as Jim nodded slowly while tears filled his eyes. "She said you were the strongest man alive, I never believed her until now" she muttered before yawning and relaxing, the older man watching as his daughter fell asleep peacefully against him.

**I have no idea where this chapter came from but here it is! I wanted to bring Jim back into the picture so once again here he is! Thank you for your amazing reviews and I hope to hear from all of you again with this chapter. **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you **


	19. Chapter 19

"Mommy, daddy you need to wake up" Alexis squealed as she began to jump up and down on the end of the bed as her parents groaned and turned to look at her, exhaustion covering their faces as Kate moaned and ran her hand to her large bump. She was one week off being six months pregnant and she wasn't amused at being woken up at whatever time it was that Sunday. "Come on, we have to decorate my brother's bedroom today" she moaned, continuing to jump up and down as Kate climbed out of bed.

"Kate? You okay?" Rick asked quickly as she quickly approached the en-suite.

"I need to pee, I'm pregnant remember and our daughter has been jumping on the end of our bed while our son is jumping on my bladder so excuse me for a minute" she moaned before entering the en-suite and shutting the door quickly as Rick rolled his eyes and watched the door for a moment while Alexis crawled up the bed to cuddle up beside him.

"Did I upset mommy daddy? I didn't mean too, I was just excited about decorating the baby's room today" Alexis blurted out as Rick shook his head and tightly wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss into her hair for a second before laughing.

"Sweetheart mommy wasn't angry, we're excited about decorating the baby's room too but mommy needed the toilet" he explained as the redhead nodded gently and watched as Kate walked out and smiled across at her family before staring at her bump for a moment. "Happy now?" he asked as she rolled her eyes.

"Ecstatic Richard, ecstatic" she muttered as the writer laughed and climbed out of bed to walk over to her and kiss her gently as the writer laughed and kept her close to him. "I'm going to get dressed and then we can decorate the baby's room, I want to get the majority of it done today while I can still see most of my feet" Kate smiled as everyone nodded in agreement and watched as she slowly grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the en-suite.

"Why don't you go and change into your painting clothes sweetheart?" Rick asked as the redhead nodded and ran out of the room while Rick laughed and approached the wardrobe, grabbing some of his old clothes before he began to undress; unaware that Kate had opened the en-suite door and was now watching him with a small smirk covering her face. Turning around as he pulled his t-shirt on, Rick laughed as his found his wife staring at him with her smirk turning into a large smile. "Like what you see?" he asked as she nodded.

"I must do if I let you get me like this Richard" she declared as she ran her hand to her stomach and laughed as the writer nodded and kissed her gently while they continued to laugh against each other's lips. "I can't wait to have this baby, I can't wait to hold our baby for the first time in my arms and never let them go" she whispered as Rick nodded and ran his hand to join hers before they slowly walked out of the room together. Entering their baby's nursery a few moments later, Kate sighed as she stared at the empty room while the writer began to carry the paint into the room; the seven year old running into the bedroom a few seconds later before tightly wrapping her arms around her mother who laughed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Hey baby girl" Kate smiled.

"Hello mommy" Alexis said happily as Kate nodded and quickly leant down to press a kiss into her hair. "Hello baby brother" the redhead added as she stared at Kate's bump while the brunette smiled proudly and continued to run her fingers through the seven years old hair as the writer watched them with a small grin covering his face. "I can't wait to see my baby brother mommy, I'm going to be the best big sister" she explained as the cop nodded and moved towards the window with the redhead. "I'm going to read books to my baby brother and I am going to play with him when he's big enough to play with me and I'm going to teach him everything I know mommy, I promise" she promised as Kate laughed.

"Sweetheart I trust you" Kate declared as she tightly wrapped her arms around the redhead before looking across at the writer who was pretending not to watch them. "So did we decide on a colour in the end?" she laughed as the writer nodded and quickly opened the paint tin to reveal the light blue colour. "I like that colour" she stated as the writer beamed, glad that she agreed with choice. They'd attempted to go paint shopping together earlier in the week but Kate had debated over every single colour in the store and therefore they'd decided he'd go out and buy the colour as well.

"I bought white as well, I thought we could have white on three of the walls and then blue on the other wall where the crib will be, I just thought that would be a nice idea instead of having it all blue" he explained as she nodded and moved towards him to kiss him gently against his lips as his arms wrapped around her. "I love you beautiful, I love you so much" he whispered as she nodded and stared up at him in silence for a moment before kissing him again.

"How did I get this lucky? How did I get so lucky to be married to a man like you?" she asked as the writer smiled at her and shrugged before looking across at Alexis who was staring out of the window in silence. "See anything nice outside sweetheart?" Kate asked as she cuddled up against Rick while the writer held her close to him.

"It's raining" the redhead commented as Kate laughed and turned to look up at the writer who rolled his eyes. "I like it when it rains, it looks really pretty" she explained as Kate walked over and rested her hand on the seven year's old shoulder before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Are we going to start painting now?" Alexis asked quickly as Rick hummed in thought.

"I think we should start painting" Rick declared as Alexis cheered and moved away from the window.

XOOOXXOOXOXOXXO

"Now this looks nice" Jim smiled as he entered the bedroom to see the walls freshly painted as well as most of his daughter's hair and Rick's face. "Did you two have fun while you were doing this?" he asked as Kate bit into her lip, trying not to laugh at her father's amused face as he stared at the two younger adults. "It's funny because when Alexis answered the door, she was completely spotless but you two look a mess" he commented as Kate and Rick remained silent for a moment.

"Well Alexis likes to do things slowly and perfectly while Kate and I were trying to get everything done today so we could start making everything perfect for our little boy" the writer explained as he moved his arms around Kate while she smiled across at her father. Hearing laughing downstairs, the writer sighed as Kate moved away from him and began to walk out of the room. Disappearing into the corridor, Kate sighed as she watched her friends for a moment before laughing and walking towards him; her arms tightly wrapping Lanie as the medical student laughed.

"So does Auntie Lanie get to see the baby's room or not?" the student asked as Kate smiled and nodded before her friend disappeared down the corridor to go and see what they'd done. "I love the colour Kate, good choice" Lanie called out from the bedroom as Kate beamed, glad that someone else liked it as well.

"Rick actually chose it Lanie, he made an excellent choice" Kate answered back before she heard the writer laugh before reappearing with the student. "Hey stranger, I've missed you" Kate beamed as she walked towards the writer and kissed him gently as he tightly wrapped his arms around her while everyone rolled their eyes at them.

"You two make me feel ill from all your cuteness sometimes" Lanie declared as Kate rolled her eyes at them while she remained close to the writer. "You haven't been apart for two minutes, how can you guys be all lovey like this?" she asked as she pointed across at the couple who were wrapped around each other with the largest smiles covering their faces.

"Hormones" Rick stated as Kate glared up at him. "She can't get enough of me at the moment" he teased as Kate elbowed him.

"We really needed to know that Richard" a voice stated behind them as both Rick and Kate turned to see Martha and Jim staring at them. "And I'm sure Kate really wants you talking about her hormones in front of everyone" she said sarcastically as the writer stared down at his feet, suddenly feeling guilty for teasing his wife. "The baby's room looks lovely by the way Kate, Richard" she stated as the writer smiled weakly before looking across at Kate who now blushing in embarrassment over what Rick had said in front of her father.

"I'm sorry" he whispered as she shrugged and moved to cuddle into his side as he pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Did any of you bring food? I'm starving" Kate admitted as everyone laughed before the sound of someone knocking on the door ran through the apartment.

"That will be the Chinese" Javier stated as Lanie nodded in agreement before confusion covered Jenny and Kevin's faces along with Martha and Jim.

"But I thought that was the Italian" Kevin admitted as Kate watched.

"But I ordered burgers and fries as well" Jim added as Martha sighed.

"Well I ordered Thai" Martha stated before Kate burst out laughing, silence filling the room as she smiled.

"I honestly don't care what it is, the more food, the happier I am" she declared before walking towards the door and opening it to see four delivery men staring at her. "Hi, now who bought what?" she asked quickly as Rick rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm while her hand continued to run across the large bump.

**This is a short chapter but I wanted to get something up before the major drama started again and anyway, I wanted to do a time jump so Kate's now six months pregnant practically! Soon we'll have a baby Caskett. **

**Also anyone who has any baby ideas, do tell me. I really want to see what ideas you have as I am rubbish with names at the moment! **


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey" Kate whispered as she entered Rick's office to see the writer sat by his desk in his pyjamas, currently working on the newest book while exhaustion continued to cover his face. Walking towards him, Kate sighed as she wrapped his arms around his neck as she leant down and pressed a kiss into his hair before she moaned. "Come back to bed, I want to cuddle before work" she stated as he laughed and stared up at her for a moment, noticing how exhaustion she was.

"You tired Katie?" he asked quickly as she moaned before moving to sit on his lap as his arms tightly wrapped around her. "Did you sleep okay sweetheart?" he asked as she shook her head and looked across at him for a moment as he gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Want to go to bed?" he whispered as she quickly nodded and moved off his lap before taking his hand and walking out of the office towards their bedroom together in silence. "So why didn't you sleep okay Katie?" he asked as they cuddled up together in a bed a few moments later.

"Well I woke up to find my husband not in bed and the whole space was freezing cold, you know I don't like it when you're not there when I wake up" she moaned as he laughed and kissed her gently as the smile continue to grow on her face. "I don't want to go to work today, I think I should stay here with you and we should just cuddle for the whole day and not leave" she whispered as shock covered his face. Kate didn't want to go to work? That had to be a first?

"Kate you love your job" he commented as she shrugged and cuddled up against him while he ran his fingers through her hair for a moment. "Anyway, soon you'll have to stop going into the field as it's not going to be safe and then you'll go on maternity leave until whenever you choose so you'll hardly be there Kate" he smiled as she groaned, not really caring at the moment. All she wanted to do was cuddle up with her husband and sleep forever.

"Can I pull a sickie?" she asked quickly as shock continued to cover his face. "Or I could go in later, I just really want to cuddle" she moaned as he nodded and slowly wrapped his arms around her as she sighed and buried her face into his shoulder, not wanting to move out of the security of his arms.

"Maybe we could go for dinner tonight? Just you and me Katie? We haven't gone out on a date for what feels like forever" he explained as she nodded, liking the idea of going out with him for some time alone together before their son arrived. "Maybe we could to that Italian down town, the one we went to a while back with the private room. That would be nice" he declared as she nodded and kissed him quickly before shutting her eyes gently and yawning.

"You organise it Rick and I'll be there, I'll even wear something pretty for you. I'll go to an effort tonight and wear something nice" she stated quickly as he laughed and pressed another kiss into her hair as she yawned against his neck and relaxed.

"Kate, you always look pretty even when you're just in your wonderful pyjamas" he complimented before looking down to see that she was fast asleep against him. "Sleep well beautiful" he whispered as he watched her for a moment. "I love you Kate, I love you so much" he smiled before shutting his eyes and attempting to go back to sleep.

XOOXOXOXOXXOXO

"Look how small the shoes are" she squealed as she held a pair of boots in her shoes and turned to look at her husband who laughed and nodded, watching as she continued to run her fingers across every area of the shoes while her smile continued to grow. "Why am I looking at shoes? Our baby isn't going to wear shoes in a while, I should be looking at clothes and important things" she declared, practically telling herself what to do as she looked down at her bump and relaxed.

"Kate, you can buy a pair of shoes if you want" he laughed as she bit into her lip. "It doesn't matter if it's not needed yet, it's nice to have things early" he declared, kissing her quickly as she laughed and continued to stare at the shoes in amazement.

"Is our baby really going to be that small?" she asked as he nodded, a gentle laugh leaving her lips as she placed her shoes with the rest of the clothes they'd selected in the previous hour. "Is it silly buying baby clothes this early?" she whispered as he shook his head and smiled at her.

"Of course not, it's good to be prepared though" he declared as she nodded and stole another kiss from him before laughing gently. "Just in case the baby arrives earlier than expected or we don't have the chance to go shopping before he arrives. Anyway I like spoiling our baby already, he's going to be the best dressed child in the neighbourhood" he explained as she laughed, hoping that her baby wouldn't arrive early. She wanted her baby to be healthy more than anything in the world and she wasn't going to risk anything! "Want to go and get something for lunch after we pay for this?" he asked quickly as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"That would be amazing" she laughed as the writer nodded and led her towards the checkout! "I was thinking that I should go to the precinct this afternoon, just to check on things" she admitted as he laughed.

"Or you could just call Javi and ask?" he suggested as she shrugged.

"I could just call Javi, he'll tell me if anything important is going on" she repeated as he leant down and kissed her gently while the large smile remained on his face.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"So any new cases today Javi?" Kate asked quickly as she cuddled into the corner of the couch while the writer sat on the other side of the couch folding the numerous amount of baby grows they'd bought their daughter. "Come on tell me, do we have any new cases?" she moaned as she watched the writer put the folded clothes down on the coffee table before he moved to help her remove the shoes she was wearing.

"Well we have four murders so far, all in the last two days and all seem to be connected somehow. They all used the same bullets and they're currently being looked at" he admitted as shock covered her face.

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" she asked.

"Well you were off today" Javier stated as she shook her head and stood up.

"But I was working yesterday; I worked from eight o'clock yesterday morning to around eleven last night Javier! Why am I only just hearing about this?" she asked quickly as the writer watched her in confusion. What was going on? "Javier if we have four murders and they're connected I should be there, I should be helping and I should have at least been told about it" she said, her frustration building up as she moved towards the window; not wanting Rick to see her so angry.

"I'm not the one who wanted to keep it from you Kate, I wanted to tell you but Montgomery said…" he began before falling silent.

"Montgomery told you not to tell me" she whispered in shock as Rick stood up and walked towards her, his hands moving to rest on her shoulders. "Why would he tell you not to tell me?" she asked as Rick's arms moved to wrap around her, holding her against his chest as tears ran down her cheeks. "I work there, I'm as good as you and Kevin so why didn't he tell me about this case?" she asked quickly as Rick pressed a kiss into her hair.

"I don't know Kate and I'm sorry but Montgomery probably had his reasons, he doesn't just do things for no reason" he stated as she continued to stare out of the window. "Look we'll see you tomorrow Kate and then you can ask Montgomery yourself" he declared, trying to make her feel better as she shook her head.

"No because I'm coming in right now" she announced before putting the phone down and staring at her husband. "I have to go into work Rick" she whispered as Rick shook his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he held her tightly to him. "I need to go in and talk to Montgomery, I need to find why he's keeping cases from me" she begged as the writer shook his head again, not wanting her to go into work and ruin their perfect day. "I'll not even be an hour, I just want to know why" she mumbled.

"Then I'm coming with you" he declared as she stared at him for a moment. "We could go and pick Alexis up from school afterwards, she'd love it if both us went and got her" he explained as she nodded and kissed him quickly, her arms wrapping around his neck as she buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sure Montgomery had a good reason for not telling you Kate, maybe he was worried about you getting too stressed" he suggested as she shrugged. "Shall we go then?" he asked as she nodded and allowed him to hold her hand before they walked out of the apartment together.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Entering the precinct, Kate quickly looked at the writer who was standing beside her before moving towards Montgomery's office while Rick watched in amazement. He knew she was angry but he also knew that he couldn't stop her from doing this. She wanted answers and he needed to let her get them.

"Rick" Javier called over as the writer smiled weakly and walked towards them to find the two cops looking at Montgomery's office where Kate was stood inside in silence- staring at her captain. "How angry is she?" he asked quickly as Rick continued to watch his wife for a moment, knowing that she was still furious about being kept in the dark.

"She's furious at the moment" Rick admitted before he heard Kate start shouting.

"Why didn't you tell me Montgomery?" she asked as everyone continued to watch her. "I'm part of this team or have you forgotten about me?" she shouted as the captain stood up and stared at her.

"Kate will you sit down for a minute and calm down?" Montgomery asked as she shook her head and crossed her arms over her body.

"No I will not sit and calm down, I want to know why Esposito and Ryan were told not to tell me about this case" she stated as the man sighed and watched her for a moment. "I'm sorry Captain but I want to know the truth, why the hell wasn't I involved in this case?" she asked as Montgomery stared at her for a moment.

"Kate all of the victims were shot with a bullet…" he began as she watched him.

"I gathered that much" she muttered as he glared across at her, silencing her as she bit into her lip.

"There were letters carved into the bottom of each bullet, Kate the four bullets spelt out the word Kate" he explained as her hand moved to rest on the chair, supporting her body as she gasped.

"It might not be me, Kate's a popular name" she muttered as he moved to grab the file. Passing it to her, he watched as she opened it to reveal the pictures inside. "Oh god" she whispered as she took in the first woman who was around her age with the same colour and length of hair. Flicking to the next picture, Kate slowly moved to sit down as she took in a picture of the now dead woman alive who had the same colour eyes at her. Moving to the third victim, Kate stared at the name of the woman- Katherine Rodgers.

"Kate?" he whispered as she shook her head before turning to look at her the last file, shock covering her face as she dropped the folder onto the floor and ran her hand to her bump.

"Did they?" she asked gently as Montgomery watched her for a moment.

"They managed to save her baby, someone found her soon after but the mother didn't wake it" he explained as she turned to see Rick watching from the main area while tears ran down her cheeks. Watching as Rick quickly walked towards the office and entered the room to wrap his arms around her. "Rick, I want you to take Kate home" he declared as Kate shook her head. "Kate you have to choice in the matter, I want you out of the precinct until we found this person and I'll be putting two uniforms outside your apartment as well" he stated as Rick continued to hold her close.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" Rick asked as Kate buried her face into his shoulder. "I think I have a right to know what's going on when my wife is crying and you plan to have uniforms outside my apartment" Rick declared as he looked across at the older man who nodded slowly and moved to sit down in his chair. "Tell me what the hell is going on" Rick stated as he continued to hold Kate in his arms, knowing that she would be embarrassed later about him holding her like this in front of her boss.

"Someone is murdering women who are similar to Kate, Rick" he declared as Rick stared down at his wife who was now moving away from him and wiping the tears from her eyes. "I want her to be safe Rick and that's why I'm doing what I plan on doing" he explained as Rick looked across at his wife who was watching her bump in silence while her fingers ran across it.

"Do you think it has something to do with Johanna?" Rick asked quickly as Montgomery shrugged, not knowing whether this was related to Kate's mother's murder or not. "Come on Kate, let's go home, we'll pick Alexis up on the way back" he whispered as she nodded slowly, his arm wrapping around her as she sent a sad smile across to her boss before they slowly walked out of the office as Kevin and Javier approached them.

"Kate?" Javi asked as she shook her head and remained cuddled into Rick's side. "You'll be okay" he declared as she stared at him in silence for a moment.

"Do you know what hospital her baby is in?" Kate asked as confusion covered Rick's face. "I want to go and see how the baby is" she whispered as Javier sighed and moved towards his desk to find out which hospital the fourth victims baby was in.

XOXOXOXOXOXOO

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you Kate?" Rick asked as he sat in the corridor with her and watched as she shook her head before leaning across to kiss him gently before standing and moving towards the door to see a man around Rick's age sat inside the room by the crib of his baby. Pushing the door open slowly, Kate bit into her lip as she watched the man turn around to look at her.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm Officer Castle from the twelfth precinct, my partners are working on your wife's case" she explained as he nodded slowly and turned to look at his daughter. "I wanted to come and say sorry for your loss and to see how your baby was doing" she admitted as she walked towards the incubator to see the small baby inside covered with tubes. "Boy or girl?" she asked.

"A girl" he whispered as she smiled weakly. "I can't think of a name for her yet, we hadn't discussed it yet" the man admitted as tears ran down his cheeks. "She was so excited about becoming a mom, she was so happy when she found out she was pregnant" he laughed tearfully as he turned to look at her stomach. "But I guess you know the feeling officer" he smiled as she nodded and moved her hands to her stomach.

"She'd be happy just to know that you've got a little fighter here" Kate explained as the man smiled proudly at his daughter. "She's a beautiful little girl" she whispered as he nodded again and relaxed in the chair. "Your wife would have been so proud of her, she would have been so proud to know that your little girl is fighting" she whispered as she watched the other man cry silently. "I'm sorry that some bastard was cruel enough to take her from you and your daughter but she'll never leave you, she'll always be here watching you and looking after you".

"Have you ever lost someone?" he asked as she nodded slowly.

"My mom was murdered" she admitted as he stared at her. "They never found her killer but I promise, I won't give up until her mother's killer is found and locked away somewhere he can never hurt someone else again" she declared before smiling weakly down at the little girl. "I promise you that I'll find him" she whispered gently before she moved her hand to her own stomach, knowing that she was promising her son as well.

"Thank you" the man whispered as she smiled weakly before moving away towards the door. "Thank you for coming" he smiled as she watched him in amazement before nodding. "It was nice to have someone to talk too and someone who wanted to check on her".

"I'll come and see how she is next week if that's okay?" she declared before shaking her head and removing a card with a number on from her pocket before passing it to him. "Call me if you want to talk to someone about anything or if you think of a name or if something happens to her, I'd like to know that she's okay" she admitted as he nodded and smiled at her.

"Thank you Katherine" he whispered as she slowly moved towards the door before walking out to see Rick waiting in the corridor.

"How's the baby?" he asked.

"She's alive but she's so tiny Rick, she's so beautiful and yet she's barely bigger than my hand" she sobbed as his arms wrapped around her. "I got eighteen years with my mom but she won't even have a minute with hers, she'll never remember her and that's because some bastard is coming after me" she muttered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before sighing and holding her close to him.

"Why don't we go home, I'll run you a bath and we'll spend the evening together" he suggested as she nodded slowly. "Please try and smile sweetheart" he begged.

"That little girl has no mother because of me Rick" she announced before moving away from him and beginning to walk out of the room. "That man has no wife and that little girl has no mother because someone out there wants to hurt me" she whispered as the guilt over took her as she burst into tears, unable to control herself as Rick walked over and began to lead her out of the hospital, wanting to get her home so he could attempt to calm her down.

XOXOXXOOXOXOXOXO

"Daddy where's mommy?" Alexis asked as she entered the apartment with her grandmother, the writer glad that his mother had been able to take his daughter from them when they'd arrived at the hospital for the rest of the afternoon. "I haven't seen mommy nearly all day" the redhead moaned as Rick sighed and knelt down in front of her.

"Mommy's not feeling too good sweetheart" Rick admitted as Kate stared at him for a moment.

"Does Kate's illness have something to do with the fact that there are two officers outside out door in uniform asking who we are when we try to enter our own home?" Martha called from the kitchen as Rick groaned, wishing that his mother wasn't so dramatic at times. "Richard what is going on this time?" she asked as she walked towards him and noticed the concern that was covering his face. "Darling?" she whispered as Rick shook his head, not wanting to talk about dead women in front of his seven year old daughter.

"Alexis, why don't you go and get ready for bed?" Rick smiled as the redhead glared at him for a moment before nodding and running upstairs as Rick stood up and turned to look at his mother. "Four women have been killed over the last two days, one had brown hair, the other had the same colour eyes as Kate, while the third was a woman named Katherine Rodgers and the fourth was seven months pregnant" he explained as shock covered Martha's face.

"And the baby?" she asked quickly.

"They managed to save the baby but they couldn't' save the mother and that's the one that's affected Kate the most. We went to the hospital and she talked to the husband and went to see the baby but she's blaming herself now, she thinks it's her fault that the little girl has no mother" he admitted as he moved to sit down on the couch before sighing and burying his face into his hands.

"But how do we know it's our Kate?" the redhead asked as she moved to sit beside her son who was now sitting silently.

"Because the bullets had the letters of her name spelt out in order of each victim" he explained as he turned to look at his mother. "I'm going to make her a tea and go and cuddle her, can you go and read to Alexis and tell her that Kate isn't very well?" he asked quickly as she nodded and watched as he moved towards the kitchen to prepare the tea. Slowly finishing the drink, Rick smiled across at his mother before moving towards his bedroom and gently kicking the door open to see Kate lying in the middle of their bed with her arms tightly wrapped around the old teddy bear she occasionally hugged when she felt lost or missed her mother more than normal. "I made you some tea" he smiled weakly as she turned to look at him before nodding.

"I'm not thirsty" she whispered as she turned to look at him for a moment. "Thank you though" she mumbled as he placed it down on the bedside table before moving to lie down beside her and felt her cuddle into his side for a moment. "I'm sorry that our perfect evening was ruined, I know you wanted to go to dinner but I don't feel like being in public at the moment" she whispered as he watched her for a moment before leaning down and pressing a kiss into her hair before relaxing back as she shut her eyes and kept an arm around the stuffed bear; desperately wanting the whole day to be a nightmare that she could wake up from.


	21. Chapter 21

**Something important about the previous chapter- everyone asked why the man knew Kate's name and I just wanted to explain that when she gave him the card with her number on, it also had her name on so that's why he knew it! I'm sorry, I should have made it clearer but I hope you understand now. **

Entering the apartment slowly, Kate yawned as she stared down at the watch she was wearing to see that it was just past two in the morning. Pulling her jacket on, Kate sighed as she kicked her shoes off and slowly approached her bedroom to see the writer sitting on the bed watching her in exhaustion.

"Why are you awake Rick? It's late" she asked as she unbuttoned her shirt and removed her pants before approaching the bed and sitting down, her body leaning up so she could gently press a kiss to his laps, slightly shocked when he didn't respond to the kiss. "Rick?" she whispered in confusion as he moved away from her slowly. "Is something wrong?"

"What's wrong is the fact that I haven't seen my wife in almost a week for more than a couple of hours? You're either at the hospital or you're at the precinct trying to work on a case that Montgomery clearly banned you from Kate" he declared, standing up as she stared at him in shock; only dressed in her underwear as the writer began to move towards the door where she noticed a packed bag was baiting.

"Where are you going?" she asked as she stood up and grabbed her robe from over the chair. "Rick?" she asked quickly, pulling the thin material over her body as she followed him out of their bedroom to see the younger redhead standing at the bottom of the stairs with her bag waiting on the floor. "Rick you can't just leave" she begged as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Kate, you're pregnant, you need to start remembering that when you work almost twenty two hours a day and eat hardly anything" he announced as he lifted Alexis into his arms and watched as the redhead buried her face into his shoulder in exhaustion. "We're going to go and stay at a hotel for a while, see whether you realise what you're losing" he explained as she shook her head and moved towards him.

"Rick please" she begged as he shook his head, knowing that he was being unfair but he needed her to realise. It had been a week of Alexis not seeing her mother, a week of him worrying about his wife and their baby. He'd called the precinct a couple of times a day to talk to her but she was always too busy and Javier was always willing to tell him whether Kate had eaten or not. "It's just this case" she whispered.

"It's always going to be a case though, isn't it Kate?" he announced as she bit into her lip, not knowing when she'd even seen him this angry. "But you're a mother and a wife first Kate, I think you've forgotten that" he admitted as she shut her eyes and shook her head. "We'll be gone a couple of days, we'll call you when we plan to come home" he explained as she took another step towards him.

"At least let me say goodbye to Alexis" she begged as he nodded and watched as Kate moved her hand through Alexis' hair to see that the redhead was practically asleep against her father's shoulder. "I love you beautiful" Kate whispered as she pressed a kiss to the back of Alexis' head before sighing. "And I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I haven't been there but I'll make it better again" she mumbled before looking up at the writer. "I love you" she sobbed.

"I love you but Alexis comes first Kate and I won't watch her get hurt again" he declared as she felt more tears run down her cheeks. "I'll see you in a couple of days" he whispered as he took a step away from her and leant down to grab the bags that were on the floor.

"Please don't go" Kate begged, hoping she could make him change her mind. "Please stay, I'll make it better I promise" she whispered as he shook his head and looked at his daughter.

"We'll call you in a couple of days" he declared before moving towards the door that was already open. Watching as he walked out, Kate felt herself break down as she ran her hand to her bump and sobbed loudly, unable to stop herself.

"Darling?" a voice asked as Kate turned to see Martha standing at the top of the stairs. Running down the stairs, Martha quickly wrapped her arms around the young woman who continued to sob almost violently. "Did he really do it?" the redhead asked as Kate nodded and kept herself in Martha's arms, embarrassed by how weak she was acting. "He'll come back darling, he's just worried about his children".

"But I'm not trying to hurt anyone Martha" she whispered as Martha pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Sweetheart, you know how protective of Alexis Richard is" the older woman explained as Kate nodded slowly. "And you've been working a lot at the moment and that's not good for any pregnant woman, especially one who's as heavily pregnant as you are right now darling" she admitted as she began to lead her towards the main bedroom. Entering the room in silence, Martha sighed as Kate slowly moved to lie on the bed before sobbing into the pillow as Martha sat down beside her for a moment.

"Will you stay until I'm asleep Martha?" the brunette asked quietly as the redhead nodded slowly and watched as Kate shut her eyes and ran her hand to her stomach. "He's never been that angry with me before Martha, I've never seen him that angry before and he scared me" she admitted as tears ran down her cheeks while the redhead leant across and pressed a kiss to her forehead gently. "He's left me" she sobbed.

"No sweetheart, he's just angry and needs some time, he'll be home in a couple of days Kate and he'll never want to leave again" Martha promised as Kate opened her eyes and watched her for a moment. "I promise, he loves you more than anything in the world, he'll be home before you know it sweetheart" she declared as Kate nodded slowly and stared at her rings. "Rick adores you Kate, he'll come home".

"I just want him home now" Kate yawned as Martha sighed and pulled the blanket up around her as Kate slowly began to fall asleep. "I want him home" she mumbled as Martha nodded and watched her, not wanting to break her promise to the young woman.

XOOXOXOXOXOOX

"What are you doing here?" Javier asked as he watched the brunette slowly sneak into the precinct while yawning. "Kate, Martha called and told me what happened, do you want to talk about it?" he questioned as she shook her head and sat down at her desk before running her fingers through her hair as the cop walked toward her and sat on the edge of her desk. "Kate you're husband has moved into a hotel, you need to have some time off. Rick left because you work too much" he declared.

"Rick hasn't left me" Kate screamed, the whole precinct falling silent as a tear ran down her cheek. "He hasn't left me Javi, he hasn't left me" she murmured as the cop nodded and wrapped his arms around her. "He just needs some time. He'll be coming home in a couple of days anyway; he's just trying to prove a point".

"I know Kate, I wasn't trying to make it seem like he was leaving you, I just didn't know how else to say it" he admitted as she nodded and attempted to calm herself down, knowing that people were watching her all around the room. "Come on, I'll make you a tea and you can calm down" he sighed as she nodded and followed him into the break room where he quickly shut the door and watched her. "How are you doing?"

"I didn't sleep well, I just miss him Javi. I want him and Alexis to come home now" she whispered as he watched her for a moment before starting to make their drinks. "He took her Rick and I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye, she was practically asleep in his arms and he just took her away from me" she sobbed as he poured the water into her tea and quickly finished making it before passing it to her. Hearing a knock on the door, Kate turned to see another uniform waiting by the door.

"Come in" Javier declared as he watched the man enter the room and pass an envelope to Kate before walking out. Staring down at the envelope, Kate sighed as she slowly undid the envelope before lifting out the card that was inside. "Kate?" he asked as she opened the plain card to reveal one word written in red in the centre. "Kate?" he asked again.

"Boom" she whispered as confusion covered his face before she held the card out and allowed him to take it from him to see the word 'boom' that was written in it. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked as he shook his head, not knowing the answer either.

XOXOXOOXOXOXOXO

Entering her apartment later that evening, Kate sighed as she threw her coat over the side before taking hold of a piece of paper that was resting on the side. Reading the note from Martha saying that she couldn't get off work for the evening, Kate sighed as she slowly walked towards her bedroom; desperate to have a bath and wash away the day. She missed her husband and she missed her daughter and she wanted the whole nightmare to end.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Sitting in the cab with the envelope in his hands, Rick sighed as he slowly began to open it to stare at a blank card. Opening it slowly, Rick felt the shock cover his face at the message written inside the card.

_Katie goes boom. _

"Excuse me, I need to change where I'm going" Rick stated as the driver nodded and listened as he gave him the direction to the loft. Feeling his body tense, Rick watched as he drove past familiar streets before the cab stopped and he thanked the older man before paying him. Climbing out of the cab, Rick began to run towards his apartment building before stopping when a loud bang rang through the street and he found himself looking up to see his apartment specifically on fire. "Kate" he screamed.


	22. Chapter 22

**You guys are really amazing, your response to the last chapter was awesome so hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well!**

Running up towards his apartment, Rick felt the heat against his skin as he continued to approach the door, glad that it was already hanging off only one hinge. Pushing past it, Rick started to cough as he stared at his loft, his room. Everything was ruined! His home, his memories, his daughter's memories! They'd lost everything.

"Kate, Kate where are you?" he screamed, knowing that he had to find her before thinking about how ruined his apartment was. Coughing again as he entered the apartment further, Rick found himself looking around the fire and the smoke before hearing a small coughing from the direction of their bedroom. "Kate" he screamed again, his body running through the apartment as he pushed his bedroom door open and looked around to see whether he could find her. "Kate" he screamed again as the coughing began to get louder from the direction of the en-suite. Pushing the bathroom door open, Rick gasped as he found her lying in the bath coughing with her hand on her naked bump. "Kate" he whispered, kneeling down beside the bath as she turned to look at him slowly.

"You're here" she mumbled as he nodded and leant across to kiss her quickly as she groaned against his lips. "Rick I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I put work first" she whispered as he shook his head and smiled at her for a moment before reaching in for her hand before noticing the cut on her forehead. "Can I have your jacket?" she asked as he nodded and pulled it off before helping her stand up and pulling the long jacket on her body before he lifted her into his arms. "I was scared I was going to die here" she sobbed into his neck as he began to carry her out of the bedroom.

"You're going to be fine" he promised as he walked through his home or what at least was left of it. "We're going to get you checked by the paramedics, let them see whether you're both okay and then if you are we're going to go to the hotel and wait for Alexis to come home" he soothed as he attempted to take her mind off the explosion.

"Where is she?" Kate asked as he sighed and began to walk down the stairs.

"Jenny wanted to see a Disney movie but wasn't going to go on her own so she took Alexis with her" he explained as Kate laughed gently before coughing again and burying her face into his shoulder. "I think Lanie went with them as well" he added as Kate nodded and sighed, the writer smiling as he saw the exit and a paramedic waiting. Watching a woman run towards him, he sighed as Kate shut her eyes and remained close to him. "Her names Kate, she's almost seven months pregnant, she was in the main room with the explosion" he explained as the paramedic nodded.

"Hi Kate, I'm Amanda" the paramedic smiled as Rick began to carry her out of the building, not surprised to find cops and press everywhere as well as large crowds of people just watching them. "Right let's get in the ambulance and then we'll talk" she smiled as Rick nodded, glad that the older woman understood what was going on. Entering the ambulance, Rick quickly rested Kate on the bed as she smiled weakly at him and watched as Amanda climbed in to join them before shutting the doors and smiling at Kate. "So boy or girl?" she asked as she stared at Kate's bump for a minute.

"A boy" Kate smiled as she kept her hand on her stomach.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" she asked quickly as Rick and Kate shook their heads at him. "Well that's the fun part, when I had my son we had chosen names and everything and then he was born and we hated the names we'd chosen for him" she laughed as Rick and Kate nodded before Kate held her hand out and the writer grabbed it before bringing it to his lips. "Now we're going to get you to the hospital, have you and the baby checked out and then hopefully you can go home" she explained as Kate nodded. "Why don't I have a look at your cut?" she suggested as Kate nodded slowly and watched as the woman began to clean the cut on her head. "Is this your first?" she asked.

"My first, Rick's second though. He has a seven year old girl" Kate smiled as the writer nodded and stared down at the brunette for a moment. "Alexis" Kate whispered, thinking of the little girl. "Martha's working tonight, she'll be coming back to the loft and" Kate began as the writer shook his head and smiled at her.

"I'll call her from the hospital" he promised as Kate nodded and stared at him in silence. "You scared me Kate" he admitted as she shut her eyes, not wanting to cry in front of more people. "I get this note and then…" he began.

"Wait you got a note?" she asked as she opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment. "I got a note, it had boom written in it and I just shrugged it off as something stupid" she moaned as tears ran down her cheeks. "That's twice I've risked our baby now" she sobbed as the writer shook his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I just thought it was something stupid and now…" she began.

"Kate, you couldn't have known that this was going to happen" he whispered as he brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. "It's not every day that someone blows up your apartment Kate, it's not something people expect" he smiled as she nodded and stared at him for a moment.

"I'm going to go on maternity leave this week" she explained as shock covered his face. "I want to just think about my baby and my family and now that we're going to have to find a new home and redecorate everything, I want to be there to help you instead of not being involved" she explained as he nodded and smiled at her, the two of them relaxing when the ambulance stopped.

"Here we are" Amanda explained as she opened the doors and began to move the bed.

"I can walk" Kate declared as she sat up and looked across at the paramedic before turning to look at her husband who was watching her.

"You have no shoes or clothes on Katie" Rick smiled as she shook her head and held her arms out towards him. Moving closer to her, Rick laughed as her arms wrapped around his neck before he lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the ambulance in silence. Burying her face into his shoulder, Kate relaxed in his arms while the writer followed the paramedic and then a doctor who took them towards a bed.

"Now we're going to do an ultrasound and see how the baby is doing and then we'll see about discharging you Mrs Castle" the doctor explained as Kate nodded and relaxed back on the bed while Rick turned to look at the paramedic who was waiting at the end of the bed.

"Thank you" Rick smiled as she nodded at him.

"It was my pleasure, good luck with your little boy" she declared.

"Thanks" Kate whispered before the older woman nodded.

"Before I go do you want me to call your mother, you mentioned that she was going to be going to home later" Amanda suggested as both Rick and Kate nodded before the writer wrote the number down on scrap piece of paper in his pocket before pausing.

"You better call Kate's dad as well" he admitted before writing down another number and passing it to the older woman who nodded at him before walking away. Watching as the doctor walked towards them pushing the ultrasound machine, Kate relaxed as she pulled the blanket to cover her legs; embarrassed that she still didn't have any clothes on.

"Is there any chance she could have something to wear?" Rick asked a nurse who joined them, the petit woman nodding as she disappeared for a moment before reappearing with some scrubs. "Here" Rick smiled, helping his wife put on the top half of the outfit; the brunette not bothering to fight him. They both felt guilty for what had happened and she desperately wanted to make him feel better.

"Thanks" Kate sighed before relaxing back and watching as the doctor began to cover her stomach in the cold gel before starting the scan. Watching the screen, Kate smiled weakly as her baby appeared before the sound of the heartbeat began to echo around the room. "Thank god" she whispered as the doctor nodded while Rick took her hand and kissed it again.

"Your baby seems fine Mrs Castle, I can't see anything wrong" he explained as she felt a tear run down her cheek. Her baby was okay. "Now are you feeling any pain that I need to know about?" he asked as she shook her head, knowing that she was feeling fine. "The cut on your head should go down soon, there's no need for stitches and by the look of it you seem okay so I think it'll be okay for you to go home" he admitted as she smiled.

"Well at least back to our hotel" Kate declared as she looked at her husband who nodded and leant across to kiss her quickly.

"If you feel anything wrong Mrs Castle, I want you to come back in immediately but other than that I'll get your discharge papers" the doctor declared as she nodded and grabbed the pants; watching as the doctor left the room before she stared to get dressed and turned to look at her husband. Signing the papers when they were brought to her, Kate sighed as she stood up and looked at the doctor. "You were very lucky Mrs Castle; it could have been a lot worse for you and your baby".

"I know" Kate whispered as she moved her hand to her bump. "I know".

XOOXOXXOXOXOXO

"Where is she?" Martha asked as she entered the hotel suite and quickly walked through the main room towards the bedroom to see Kate lying in the middle of the bed fast asleep. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, the redhead sighed as she brushed stray hair away from Kate's face before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "My poor darling" she muttered before standing and smiling. Leaving the room, Martha sighed as she found herself staring at her son who was curled up on the couch in silence. "I saw it on the news before the paramedic phoned me" she admitted.

"Everything's gone mother, we've lost everything" he commented as she sat down and sighed. "I could have lost Kate too, I could have lost Kate and my son today" he admitted as tears ran down his cheeks, shocking his mother slightly.

"But you didn't Rick, she's fast asleep in bed and they're both okay and everything's going to be fine" she promised as the writer nodded and shut his eyes for a moment; not knowing what else to do. "And things can be rebought Rick, we've still got our family" she explained as he nodded and sighed before another knock rang through the hotel suite. "I've got it" she declared, moving off the couch before she approached the door and opened it to see Jim, Alexis, Jenny, Lanie, Javier and Kevin all standing in the doorway. "Come in" she declared as the group waked into the building.

"Where's Kate?" Lanie asked immediately as she stared at the writer.

"She's asleep" he admitted as Alexis ran over and moved to sit beside her father who tightly wrapped his arms around her as she began to sob into his chest. "What's the matter Pumpkin?" he asked quickly.

"We had to drive past the apartment to get back here" Kevin admitted as the writer nodded and pressed a kiss into his daughter's hair.

"Is she okay?" Javier asked as Rick sighed.

"She's fine, she's cut her head slightly but other than that she's perfect. The doctor says she's very lucky" he explained as Jim sighed in relief, knowing that the moment the paramedic had called him with the news he'd been terrified. He could have lost his daughter! Hearing movement, Rick turned to see the brunette standing in the doorway dressed in the scrubs with her hair pulled back away from her face.

"Hey" she whispered as everyone nodded before Alexis jumped off the couch and wrapped her arms around the brunette. "Hey beautiful" she smiled as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair and kept her close to her, not wanting to lose her closeness yet. She wanted to keep Alexis close, she wanted to keep her safe. "Why don't you go and change into your pyjamas sweetheart and then you can come back and tell me about your movie?" Kate suggested as the redhead nodded and quickly disappeared into another room. Watching as her father walked towards her, Kate sighed as Jim tightly wrapped his arms around her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm fine daddy, I'm fine" she whispered as he nodded slowly and stared at her for a moment. "Can you just hug me for a while?" she mumbled, not wanting anyone to hear her as he nodded again and continued to hold her close to him.

"Where are you two going to live?" Kevin asked as Jenny elbowed him in the stomach, knowing that it was the question they'd all been nervous about asking. "What?" he questioned, the petit blonde's eyes rolling as Kate moved away from her father slowly to sit beside her husband who tightly wrapped his arms around her.

"I guess we'll stay here until we can find somewhere suitable, it's not ideal though as everything's going to have to be rebought and we're going to have to redecorate it and with Kate being this far along" he began as she shut her eyes and rested against him, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to help as much as she would want too.

"We'll help with whatever you need Kate, Rick" Javier declared as everyone nodded in agreement, the younger redhead running out to join her parents who were cuddled up together. "Look we should go and leave you alone, it's been a long night and I'm sure you're all tired" he admitted as he wrapped an arm around Lanie who nodded and cuddled into his side, desperately trying not to yawn as she watched Kate and Rick who were now sat with Alexis.

"Thanks for coming" Rick whispered as Kate smiled at them, the two of them watching as Lanie, Javier, Jenny and Kevin all slowly left the hotel suite together.

"If you need anything, call me" Jim demanded as Kate nodded and leant up to press a kiss to his cheek. "I'll bring some of the spare clothes I have had the apartment for you tomorrow" he smiled as she nodded and smiled up at him. "Get some sleep, all of you" he added as Rick smiled at him for a moment before watching as the older man left the room quickly.

"Come on, time for bed" Rick declared as he stood up and lifted his daughter into his arms, laughing when she began to moan at him. "It's been a long night and you need to get some sleep" he whispered into her hair as Kate stood up and rested her hand on the redhead's back for a moment before pressing a kiss to the back of her head.

"Come on sweetheart, let's go to bed" she whispered as she followed Rick into the other bedroom before the writer rested his daughter down and smiled at her. "I love you sweetheart, I love you so much" she explained before leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. "If you want us, we're just across to hall" she promised as the redhead nodded and smiled at her before yawning and shutting her eyes as Rick smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek before standing up and leading Kate out of the bedroom.

"Come on sleepy head, bed time" Rick smiled as he lifted her into his arms and relaxed at the feeling of her pressing a kiss to his neck. "I could have lost you both today" he whispered as they entered the hotel room and he rested her on the bed, the two of them watching her hands move to her bump as he moved to sit beside her before kissing her. "I should have been there".

"I'm glad you weren't, it could have been much worse" she admitted, imagining what it would have been like if she'd lost both her daughter and husband because of a case. "Rick sweetheart, I could have lost you and Alexis today forever and that would have been unbearable, I already lost you for a night, I can't lose you for my whole life" she whispered before kissing him gently and cuddling into his side. "Tomorrow I'm going to talk to Montgomery about going on leave" she admitted as he pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Then we'll go to the estate agent and find a new home" he smiled before they both groaned. "We have to find a house Kate, we are on a time limit now" he declared, looking down at her stomach as she laughed and nodded, knowing that they'd be all right.


	23. Chapter 23

**This chapter is more of a filler chapter than anything so hopefully you enjoy it even though nothing major happens. Also thank you for your wonderful reviews, I really do love hearing from you and it just keeps up my faith that you're still enjoying this and want more chapters! **

"So this is the man who blew up my home?" Kate asked as she stared at the older man who was sat in the interrogation room with two detectives. She'd come in to tell Montgomery that she was going to start her maternity leave early and had been informed that the man who'd blown up her apartment had been found earlier that morning. "Did he say why he did it?" she questioned as she turned to look at her captain slowly who nodded and sighed. "Why did he do it Roy?" she asked as the captain sighed.

"He lived three floors down from your apartment and apparently a man knocked on his door, gave him a key to your loft along with the bomb, strong I know, and told him to plant it in your apartment or he'd kill his wife and daughter" Montgomery explained as Kate watched the man for a moment. This man had tried to kill her because he was being blackmailed? "We went to his apartment, his wife and daughter backed up the story, the little girl is extremely stressed over the situation and there is footage of the man at the door but we can't see his face Kate, he's wearing a hood and he knows what he's doing" he admitted as Kate sighed and nodded, trying not to cry in front of her boss.

"When's this going to end Roy? My apartments been blown up, Rick and Alexis have been kidnapped and my seven year old has had a gun pressed to her head. I want this to be over before they can do anything else to hurt my family" she explained as her captain sighed and nodded, knowing that Kate was starting to worry about everything. "I'm having a baby in a couple of months and I don't know whether it's safe for me to take my son home from the hospital when he's born" she admitted as he rested his hand on her shoulder and watched her for a moment.

"I will catch the bastards Kate, I will catch them and end this for your children" he promised as she smiled weakly before tightly wrapping her arms around him. "We'll catch them Kate, I promise that we'll catch them" he whispered as she nodded and stared up at him for a moment. "Now go, enjoy your maternity, go and find a house that you love and want to bring your family up in and keep in contact. We'll all want to know when you find somewhere" he declared as she nodded and smiled at him for a moment before walking towards the door and stepping out. Seeing Javier and Kevin standing by the desk, Kate sighed as she walked towards them and tightly wrapped her arms around Javier who smiled and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"We'll come over and see you all time" he promised as she nodded and moved to hug Kevin as well. "And we'll tell you if we find anything new" he added as Kate smiled and turned to look at her desk. "Give Officer Castle a rest for a while just be Kate, that's who everyone needs right now" he declared as she nodded in agreement.

"I can't wait to just be Kate" Kate laughed as she ran her hand to her stomach. "I'll have you all over when we find a house to have a meal in" she declared as both men nodded and sighed. "Right I'm going to get going, Rick and I are going apartment hunting today and we kind of need to find a home quickly. We are on a schedule after all" she smiled as they watched her slowly leave the precinct with a large smile covering her face. Walking downstairs, Kate smiled at the sight of Rick waiting for her patiently by the exit. "Hey" she beamed as he turned to face her.

"There's my beautiful wife" he smiled before kissing her as she giggled against his lips. They'd been more affectionate over the past few hours and it felt like it was before everything started to happen. "Ready to go and find an apartment somewhere?" he asked as she nodded and wrapped her arms around his as she smiled and kissed his cheek gently before relaxing. "Are you really all ours until after the baby's born?" he asked as she nodded and looked up at him for a moment.

"I am all yours Richard Castle, I am all yours" she whispered before holding him close and wrapping her arms around him as he laughed and led her out of the building.

XOOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Kate is one is perfect, I really like this one" Rick smiled as he entered the planned master bedroom with her as she watched him for a moment before laughing and nodding in agreement. "Look there's a decent sized en-suite with an enormous bath especially for my beautiful wife who loves a nice bubble bath on a Friday night and then there's another room which can either be a walk in wardrobe or a temporary nursery for the baby while they're still too young to be completely alone and anyway, you'll probably never want him that far away from us because he's going to be our little baby" he smiled as she bit into her lip, actually able to imagine everything he was saying.

"It sounds perfect Rick" she admitted as he nodded and approached her, his fingers with hers before leading into his idea of their baby's room.

"We could put the crib here" he declared as he took her around the room. "A changing table here and a bookcase over there, we could even have a rocking chair over and there and a box here for all his toys and blankets and stuff. We could make it perfect Kate, we could do this" he explained as she nodded, realising how perfect everything seemed.

"I trust you" she whispered as she leant up and gently pressed a kiss to his lips. "I trust you to make this place completely perfect for our family Rick" she smiled as he lifted her up slightly, laughing at her small squeal. "This one's the one Rick, I can imagine us here" she admitted as he nodded and turned to look at the older woman who was walking towards them.

"This is the one" he explained as the woman smiled and nodded gently, glad they'd finally found one apartment they'd like after the rest being a clear no from after at least a minute of being there. "I think we've found our home" he sighed, wrapping his arm tightly around his wife who smiled and relaxed against him.

"Now that we've found the apartment, can we please go and get something to eat?" Kate asked as the writer laughed and nodded before looking across at the other woman who smiled at him.

"We can sign the papers later, go and get your wife something to eat" she declared as Rick thanked her and began to lead Kate towards the door.

XOXOXXOXOXOX

"Did Montgomery tell you anything about whether they've found anything about who blew up our apartment?" he asked as they sat in the diner with a milkshake between them and burgers and fries to eat.

"He lived a couple of floors down from us, a man knocked on his door and threatened his family if he didn't put the bomb in our apartment" she admitted as he stared at her for a moment. Another family had been threatened because of this? "They're okay though but the father's going to most likely end up in prison because of this" she whispered as she looked down at her bump. "His wife and daughter are going to live part of their lives without him because of the bastards who want me dead" she explained as a tear ran down her cheeks. "I can't wait for them to rot in hell Rick" she declared as he nodded, knowing that she was desperate for this to end. They all wanted it to end so they could get on with their lives!

"And they're going too, they're going to find them Kate" Rick promised as he smiled across at her for a moment before she reached across and laced her fingers with his. "We've found an apartment, it was easier than I thought it would be" he admitted as she nodded.

"Well with you, money's no object" she laughed as he shrugged and stared at her. "I like the new apartment" she admitted.

"But you don't love it?" he questioned, knowing that he wanted her to love where they were going to spend their lives together.

"Rick, I'll love it when it's our home, when it's filled with our things and Alexis is running around and the baby is sleeping in his crib" she explained as he sighed, enjoying the image she'd given him. "I'll love it when it's our home" she admitted as he nodded and kissed her quickly. "I bet you didn't expect all this when you married me Rick" she sighed as he shrugged, knowing it wasn't the original plan. "I bet you didn't expect our apartment to blow up, for you and Alexis to be kidnapped and to be starved while having guns pointed at you" she whispered as he shook his head and leant across to kiss her.

"But it makes it so much more interesting" he admitted as she rolled her eyes and kissed him again. "I mean who wants a normal marriage these days when you can have people trying to kill you?" he joked as she smiled, glad that he was trying to sound positive about everything. She needed him to stay positive for her so she remained positive as well. "Anyway I love you and that makes any threats or injuries worth it because it means I get to spend my life with you Katherine Castle and that's all I want in this whole wide world. I want to live my life with you and die old in bed beside you".

"Great so I get to wake up one morning to find my ancient husband beside me" she teased as he shrugged.

"Don't destroy my dream with your logic Kate" he smirked as she rolled her eyes at him before laughing and stealing some of his fries. "What happened to yours?" he asked, staring down at her empty plate as she shook her head in amazement.

"What do you think happened? I ate them because I was hungry and now I am moving onto your fries because I'm still hungry" she explained as he laughed before pushing his plate towards her as her smile grew. "Thanks" she whispered.

"We're married, what's mine is yours after all Kate and I mean that, I'm not just saying it because I'm not hungry anymore" he declared as she laughed and kissed him quickly, not knowing what to say to him. He was just the perfect man!

XOOXOXXOXOX

"Did you find one? Did you find one?" Alexis asked as she skipped over to them when they'd entered the hotel room and watched her for a moment before looking at each other and laughing. "Is it nice?" the redhead asked quickly as they nodded quickly before the writer held out the brochure on the house, giving Alexis the chance to flick through the numerous amounts of pictures that were included.

"I'm going to make some drinks" Kate whispered, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek before she disappeared. Approaching the couch that Alexis was currently sat on, obviously completely focused on the brochure, Rick sighed as he sat down beside her and watched as she turned every page before finishing and turning to look at it.

"What do you think?" he smiled as she nodded slowly.

"I like it daddy, when do we get to move in?" she asked as he laughed and tightly wrapped his arms around her, the little girl giggling as he began to press hundreds of kisses into her hair. Smiling as she walked back into the room, Kate sighed as she rested the three glasses on the coffee table before sitting in the space beside her husband and daughter before she relaxed back. Moving her hands to her stomach, Kate gasped as the writer quickly turned to look at her as she began to laugh.

"Kate? Are you okay?" Rick asked quickly; remaining silent when she grabbed his hand and rested it on her stomach, shock covering his face as he took in what he was feeling. "Wow" he whispered as confusion covered Alexis' face. What was going on? Why was everyone touching Kate's stomach?

"Here Lex" Kate smiled as she gently led Alexis' hand to rest on her stomach as well.

"What is that mommy?" Alexis asked in horror as Kate laughed and brushed hair away from Alexis' face for a moment.

"That's your baby brother, he's kicking" Kate explained as Alexis stared up at her for a moment before looking back down at the bump. "He's reminding us that he's here and we're not allowed to forget him" Kate teased as the writer nodded in agreement, knowing that Alexis was still shocked from feeling the kick. "God he's strong" the brunette laughed as Rick nodded in agreement. Their baby was defiantly strong if they went by the strength of his kick!

"Defiantly gets it from his mother" he smiled as she rolled her eyes and watched him for a moment before leaning across to kiss him while Alexis kept her hand on Kate's stomach, trying to ignore her parents who were currently kissing behind her. "I love you" Rick whispered against her lips as Kate nodded.

"I love you too" she smiled.


	24. Chapter 24

"Pumpkin where's your mom today?" Rick asked as he walked down the stairs to find his daughter sat in the living room eating breakfast while dressed in her pyjamas. He'd expected the brunette to be with the seven year old having breakfast like most mornings but today was different. Looking across his barely furnished home, Rick sighed as he quickly moved towards his daughter before pressing a kiss into her hair and laughing as he walked towards the main bedroom and slid inside to hear Kate humming from deeper in the room. Pushing the door open to the baby's nursery, Rick smiled as he watched Kate pile numerous amounts of books onto the bookcase they'd bought earlier. There were only two rooms complete in the house- Alexis' bedroom and the baby's bedroom while the rest had some furniture in and were desperate to be completed. "You do know you have another couple of months to do things like that Kate, it's not urgent to have books organised" Rick laughed as she turned to look at him for a moment.

"I want to get it finished" she admitted as he laughed and nodded, watching as she finished placing the books on the shelves before standing up and looking around the room. "I just want our kids to be happy Rick; I want them to have somewhere secure to live and play in. The rest of the house can wait" she explained as the writer nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead briefly. "Is Alexis having breakfast?" she asked quickly.

"Of course she's having breakfast, that girl never misses a meal" he declared as she nodded quickly, knowing that the seven year old stuck to a schedule and never moved away from it without a decent reason. "I think we need to take her out today Kate, she's been helping so much here and she hasn't gone out all week except for school" he explained as she nodded and kissed him gently before he rested his forehead against hers for a moment. "The room looks beautiful Kate, you've done an amazing job" he whispered as he looked across to see how perfect everything looked. Kate had become obsessed with making their children's room perfect and often was found in their rooms making everything fantastic for them. "You don't need to keep changing things, both rooms look wonderful so stop fussing" he declared.

"I just want them to have their own rooms again Rick, it's my fault they don't have their own rooms and I want them to be perfect for them" she explained as Rick sighed for a moment and held her close for a moment.

"Stop feeling guilty about this Katie, it wasn't your fault sweetheart, it was the fault of the evil bastards who have something against us" he whispered into her hair for a moment before kissing her gently as she moved her arms to wrap around his neck as he watched her for a moment. "But this is going to be the last time we move, this is going to be our family home Kate. This is going to be the place we bring up our many children" he declared as she laughed gently.

"Our many children Rick?" she asked.

"Well there's Alexis and our wonderful son and then of course we have to have another two or three children on top of that" he explained as she stared at him. "I want us to have a massive family with lots of children running around us laughing and being happy" he declared as she bit into her lip for a moment. "Just think about it" he whispered.

"You really want to have at least four children Rick?" she asked as he nodded again. "I think I could cope with that but I was age caps between each child, I can't cope having baby after baby after baby. I need to have some time with each baby first maybe a year or two maybe even three" she declared as he quickly nodded in agreement before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Come on, I need to get dressed and you need to have a shower" she smiled as she began to walk out of the room with her husband.

"Can I just say something Kate?" he asked quickly as she nodded and turned to look at him as he watched her from the doorway for a moment. "You look absolutely stunning" he admitted as she bit into her lip while her cheeks began to burn red. "Being pregnant suits you" he added as she laughed and moved her hand to her bump for a moment as he moved towards her and gently began to press kisses to her face as she giggled lightly.

"Stop it, go and talk to Alexis or get in the shower, I need to get dressed and I need to eat something before this one starves" she stated as he moaned before moving away from her while she moved to grab some clothes out of the suitcases that were decorating their bedroom floor. "Rick I can't wait to get this house looking normal" she whispered as he watched her for a moment before nodding, knowing that she was starting to stress about everything. She wanted the perfect family home before their son was born and at the rate they were going it was unlikely that she was going to get it.

XOXOXOXOOXXOXO

"She looks so happy" Kate smiled as she watched the redhead who was currently playing with three other children in the park while Kate relaxed back against the writer who rested his hand on her bump for a moment. "I wish she would try and talk to Ashley again, they were good friends and she misses him" she admitted as the writer nodded in agreement, not knowing what to say about the whole situation. He knew that Alexis missed Ashley and they're friendship but he also knew that his daughter hated Paige more than anything in the world for what she'd done.

"She's happy right now and she's happy with the friends that she has at school Kate, she's a happy clever little girl. We don't need to worry about her at the moment" he promised, smiling when Alexis began to laugh at something. "I tell you what really makes her happy though" he whispered in her ear as Kate turned her head slightly to look across at the writer who smiled and kissed her gently. "She loves girly nights alone with her mommy" he admitted as Kate stared at him for a moment. "And I don't think she's had one of those in a while" he explained as she bit into her lip as she laughed for a moment.

"Maybe tonight?" she commented.

"That sounds wonderful" he declared as Kate nodded and kissed him. "I'll go and join mother at her large pent house suite" he stated as Kate laughed, remembering how Martha had commented that she would stay at a hotel until she finished working and could help with her own bedroom! "You'll call if you need me though won't you?" he asked.

"Rick we'll be fine, it's one night and the baby isn't due for a while so nothing will go wrong and tonight will be perfectly fine so stop worrying about it and just relax" she stated quickly before kissing him gently and moving away when Alexis ran over to join them, still laughing as she moved to sit down beside them.

"Guess what sweetheart" Rick smiled as Alexis stared at him, waiting for him to tell her the news. "Girls night only tonight, no dad allowed" he stated as the redhead cheered and tightly wrapped her arms around Kate who laughed and pressed a kiss into her hair. "Are you going to miss me?" Rick asked as Alexis remained silent for a moment before shaking her head, a small laugh leaving her lips as he pulled her onto his lap and began to press kisses into her hair. "You're going to miss me lots and lots aren't you Alexis?" he laughed.

"It's only one night daddy, it's not forever" Alexis sighed as she rolled her eyes at him.

"You taught her that Kate, you've made her an eye roller, you and your evil habits" he moaned as he looked across at his wife who stared at him for a moment, obviously not impressed with his comment. "I'm teaching our son all my annoying habits then to get back at you, I can't have three eye rollers in this house" he stated as Kate groaned and moved to lie back on the ground as she stared down at her bump.

"Great, I'll have three children to look after then" she sighed as the writer stared at her, deciding not to reply to her comment.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Pizza, pizza, pizza" Alexis squealed as she followed Kate into the master bedroom while the brunette carried the pizza box into the bedroom before sitting down and laughing when Alexis jumped onto the bed beside her. "Pizza" the redhead giggled as Kate watched her in amazement for a moment before leaning across to gently press a kiss to her cheek. Opening the box, Kate laughed as the redhead quickly stole a slice before relaxing back against the headboard in silence as the movie began to play. "Does my brother have a name yet?" Alexis asked after a few moments as Kate turned to look at her for a moment.

"He doesn't actually sweetheart, we haven't had enough time to think about names at the moment" the brunette admitted as she sighed and ran her hand across her bump. "Do you have any ideas on names sweetheart?" Kate asked as the redhead began to hum, something she did when she was trying to act like she was thinking really hard. "Thought of anything?" the brunette smiled as Kate tightly wrapped an arm around her daughter.

"I like Noah" she admitted as Kate nodded slowly.

"Noah Castle" Kate whispered before nodding again. "That's actually really nice sweetheart" Kate admitted as the redhead nodded in agreement.

"I like Alexander too, after daddy, he was Alexander originally and then he changed it to Edgar. I don't want my baby brother called Edgar because that's a silly name mommy but don't tell daddy that one because he must like it if he changed his name to Edgar" Alexis explained as Kate smiled and ran her hand across her stomach for a moment.

"Alexander?" she whispered, laughing when the baby began to kick her. "I think you might like that one baby" Kate smiled as she stared down at her bump for a moment before looking across at her daughter. "So you really don't like the name Edgar then?" she asked.

"It's a silly name, Alexander was so much nicer but Gina and Paula said that he needed to change it because he was going to be famous" Alexis explained as she stole another slice of pizza before Kate moved the box away from her before lying down beside her daughter. "Why did daddy have to change his name when he started writing book?" the redhead asked as she moved to lie down beside her mother who turned to look at her for a moment.

"Daddy had to change his name to make him sound more interesting sweetheart, Paula and Gina thought that Richard Alexander Rodgers wasn't as fun and interesting as Richard Edgar Castle, it also made daddy sound interested in other authors because Edgar Allen Poe is an amazing writer" Kate explained as Alexis nodded slowly. "When you're older we'll read some of his work together and you can tell me what you think" she explained as Alexis nodded and stared at the older woman for a moment. "Can I ask you something sweetheart which you don't have to answer unless you want too?" the brunette asked as Alexis slowly nodded. "Do you miss your mom sometimes?" she whispered as she found Alexis' hand while the redhead bit into her lip for a moment. "I just want to make sure that you're happy Lex" Kate explained as the seven year old nodded slowly.

"I'm happy with you and daddy and my baby brother" Alexis admitted as Kate nodded before tightly wrapping her arms around the seven year old who buried her face against Kate's chest. "But I miss her sometimes" she whispered as Kate leant down and pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair. "It would be nice if she called sometimes especially after daddy and I were taken away by that evil man".

"I know baby" Kate admitted, understanding what the redhead was going through. She missed her mom too, especially when things were going through things like apartments blowing up and family being kidnapped. "I miss my mommy too as well, I miss her so much when I really need her" the brunette explained.

"I think it's harder for you mommy because I have you when I miss mommy lots and you're a really good mommy to have, you give really good hugs too which make me happy" Alexis smiled as Kate nodded slowly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I really love having you as a mommy".

"Well I love having you as a daughter sweetheart, I really do love having you as a daughter. I always have and I always will, even when I'm really old and you've decided to leave home and marry some handsome and clever young man and have lots of baby's yourself and only contact us at Christmas because you're so busy" Kate smiled as Alexis quickly shook her head.

"I'll never leave you mommy" the redhead declared as she snuggled into Kate's arms for a moment. "I don't want to get married anyway, I don't like boys. They're silly".

"Yeah, your dad might believe that sweetheart but I know that you liked Ashley when he was being silly" Kate laughed as the redhead shook her head while attempting not to look up at her mom.

"No I didn't mom, you're starting to imagine things like daddy does" she giggled as Kate nodded slowly and held her close as they both relaxed.

**I honestly have no idea where this chapter came from and I'm not sure about it but here it is! We've got to have some happy stuff in here before the drama starts again! **


	25. Chapter 25

"Kate what are you doing?" Rick yawned as he walked out of their bedroom to see the brunette carefully placing back all their DVDs into the cabinet they'd purchased. They'd completed the apartment around a week ago and for the last seven days all Kate had done was clean, clean and more clean and it was starting to worry him. "Sweetheart it's six o'clock in the morning, you need to sleep because in around half a month you're not going to get much sleep" he stated as he sat down beside her before running his hand across her baby bump. Eight and half months pregnant and Rick found her more beautiful with every passing moment. "Come on, why don't you get to bed? You don't have to clean because the apartment looks wonderful" he explained, kissing her quickly as she shook her head and turned away from him to start placing the DVDs back into the cabinet. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"No" she stated before moving her hand to join his on her stomach as their baby began to kick her. "I want everything to be perfect" she whispered as the writer sighed, knowing that Kate was nesting. His mother had warned him about it, saying that Kate would start going crazy about cleaning if she was anything like she had been while pregnant with Rick. "And anyway, we can't have our movies where Alexis can get to them. If Alexis starts watching horror films because she can reach them instead of cartoons then we're both going to regret it" she explained as the writer nodded in agreement, understanding what she was saying. Her heart was in the right place, even if she was going crazy about the whole cleanliness idea.

"Why don't we go to bed now? The DVDs look wonderful and anything unsuitable for Alexis is away from her reach so it's fine for you to go to bed now and get some sleep" he declared as she groaned, allowing him to help her off the floor before he tightly wrapped his arms around her and led her towards their room. Lying down the moment her bed was in sight, Kate smiled as the writer slid into the space beside her before his arms tightly wrapped around her body. Staring at him for a moment, Kate sighed as she ran her hand up to her husband cheek before kissing him quickly. "You going through your crazy cleaning phase?" he asked as she nodded and sighed, her hand moving to her bump as she shut her eyes for a moment and felt Rick's lips on her cheek.

"I'm going through my crazy cleaning phase" she repeated as he smiled at her and nodded, beaming at her as she yawned and groaned, her face burying into the cushion as he watched her. "I'm sleepy now" she admitted as he nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead, not knowing what else to do but watch her as she slowly began to fall asleep.

XOXOOXOXOXOXO

"Wow! This looks wonderful" Lanie squealed as she entered the new apartment to see everything perfectly furnished and finished. "I can't believe you managed to do all of this in practically a month, the whole place looks awesome" she declared as she walked further in as Javier, Kevin and Jenny silently followed her with a small smile on each of their faces. "Where's Kate and Alexis?" she asked quickly.

"Kate's still asleep and Alexis is upstairs finishing her homework, she wanted to get it done so she could join us later and not stress about her work" he admitted as Lanie nodded and felt Javier's arms tightly wrap around her. "Kate was up at stupid o'clock this morning cleaning again, she wanted to reorganise the DVDs again" he writer admitted as Javier laughed while Lanie and Jenny began to slowly shake their heads at Rick's admition. Hearing footsteps, everyone turned to see Kate standing in the doorway in a black dress as she ran her fingers through her hair and yawned, unable to stop herself as she looked across at her husband who smiled at her in amazement.

"Why didn't you tell me that it was this late?" she asked as the writer walked towards her and tightly wrapped his arms around her before kissing her quickly and smiling. "I hate sleeping in" she moaned as he shook his head and laughed for a moment before pressing another kiss to her forehead.

"Katherine Castle your body is screaming at you to get more sleep so listen to it and do what it says and don't argue about it" he ordered as she nodded quickly and kissed him before turning to look at her friends who were watching her in silence. "Doesn't she look beautiful?" Rick smiled proudly as Kate rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the couch, her hands still stroking her bump as she watched him for a moment.

"I feel like an elephant right now Rick, I honestly feel huge right now" Kate admitted as she stared at her bump for a moment. "I miss my feet as well, they seem a million miles away and I can't wait to see them again" she declared as Rick shook his head and leant down to kiss her again before moving towards the kitchen.

"Katherine Castle you look completely gorgeous, pregnancy suits you but then again, everything does" he explained as Lanie and Jenny nodded in agreement while the brunette blushed and looked across at him as he began to pour drinks for everyone. Carrying in a tray full of drinks, Rick sighed as he grabbed his and Kate's before sitting down on the couch and passing her the orange juice he'd prepared for her. "My beautiful, beautiful wife" he whispered gently as she rolled her eyes again.

"Thanks Rick" she whispered, leaning across to kiss him gently as he laughed against her lips before moving away when Alexis ran down the stairs and jumped into the space between Lanie and Javier; everyone laughing as Javier tightly wrapped his arms around the squealing redhead.

"Kate, I think I'm jealous of your daughter" Lanie stated as she watched the interaction between Javi and Alexis for a moment. "I'm no longer the only woman in Javi's life" the medical student teased as Javier laughed and leant across to kiss her.

"You know I love you like crazy chica" he whispered as she shrugged while Alexis rolled her eyes at them. "You defiantly picked up that trait from your mother Alexis" Javier commented as Rick looked across at Kate who was shaking her head at him.

"I told you, I told you Kate, you're teaching her bad habits" Rick declared as Kate continued to shake her head for a moment before laughing and kissing her husband quickly. "I do love your wonderful eye rolling though, I just wish our daughter didn't do it all the time now" he stated as she sighed and kissed him quickly before looking across at Alexis who was beginning to swing her legs while she sat quietly. "So I was thinking pumpkin that we could go out to the aquarium today while mommy has some time with Lanie and Jenny" he admitted as the redhead nodded in agreement, already excited at the idea.

"What about us?" Kevin asked as he looked across at Javier who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, what about us? We're not staying for girl time" Javier asked quickly.

"You can go to the aquarium with Alexis and Rick, you could learn something" Jenny said as shock covered her boyfriend's face. "Come on Kevin, you'll love it when you can come home tonight and tell me all the different types of fishes you saw" the petit blonde smiled gently as Kevin glared at her. Why was she treating him like a child?

"Please come Kevin, Javi, please, please, please come with us" Alexis begged as both men groaned and nodded, not knowing what else to say to her. They couldn't turn her down! She was pulling that face that meant no one could say no to her! "Daddy, Javi and Kevin are coming with us to see the fishes" the redhead cheered as Kate laughed at her daughters excitement.

"Alexis come here for a second" Kate smiled as Alexis nodded and quickly ran towards her, a giggle leaving her lips as Kate pulled her onto the couch and began to press kisses into her hair. "Good morning beautiful girly" Kate cheered as Alexis leant up and pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek as Kate held her close for a moment. "Why don't you go and get dressed for your day out?" Kate suggested as the redhead nodded and quickly jumped off the couch before running up the stairs with the largest smile covering her face.

"You're such a good mommy" Rick smiled as she rolled her eyes at him before kissing him quickly and running her hands to her bump. "Mother's still in bed I think" he declared, falling silent when the door opened and the older redhead walked in, falling over a feet as everyone watched her in silence. "Or not" Rick whispered to his wife who laughed and nodded.

"What time is it?" Martha yawned as Rick lifted up Kate's arm to look at the watch that was decorating her wrist.

"It's around ten am mother" Rick declared as she lifted up the sunglasses she was wearing before staring at him in shock. "Doing the walk of shame by any chance?" he asked as she shrugged and slowly began to walk towards the stairs as everyone attempted to hold in the laughs that were forming.

"Go away Richard, it's early, I'm tired and I have a headache" Martha warned before disappearing upstairs while Alexis quickly ran down them.

"Mommy, why is gram's almost crawling towards her room?" Alexis asked as Rick laughed and watched as Alexis sat down beside Kate and stared up at her.

"She's not feeling too well sweetheart, she was silly and didn't come home last night because she was out with her friends" Kate smiled as the redhead nodded slowly and smiled at her for a moment before Kate began to run the hairbrush, which had been resting on the coffee table, through Alexis' hair slowly. "Your hair is very pretty today sweetheart" Kate whispered as the redhead beamed proudly before moving to hug the brunette.

"Right, are we ready to go?" Rick asked as the two men nodded and stood up before Alexis pressed a kiss to Kate's cheek before quickly moving to join her father and friends before they waved and left the apartment together.

"So girl time?" Kate asked as the two other women nodded.

"Girl time" Lanie declared before standing up and moving towards her friend. "Come on, we're going to pamper you before you have no time to be pampered Kate" she explained as Kate laughed and nodded, moving her hand to her stomach for a moment before she stood up and followed her two friends into the master bedroom.

XOOXOXXOXOXO

"So have you thought of any names yet?" Lanie asked quickly as the three women lay across the bed with face masks on and small smiles covering their faces as they continued to relax. "Kate you're having a baby soon and you seem completely oblivious of names, have you really not thought of anything?" she laughed as Kate smiled and kept her hand on her stomach as the baby continued to kick her.

"Alexis suggested Noah and Alexander, I've fallen in love with the idea of Alexander though. I think it's an amazing name and it's to do with the family as well actually" Kate admitted as both Lanie and Jenny murmured in agreement.

"How does it relate to the family?" Jenny asked quickly.

"Well Rick's original middle name was Alexander and I think it's a nice name, I haven't discussed it with Rick though" Kate explained as she sighed. "Maybe we can have it as the baby's middle name but a lot of people I've talked too had chosen baby names originally and then had changed their minds once they'd given birth" Kate admitted as they nodded and slowly opened their eyes to look across at the brunette who was now staring down at where her hands was resting. "I can't believe I'm nearly going to have my baby, soon he's going to be in my arms, screaming the house down and ruining everything" she smiled as Jenny and Lanie stared at her for a moment. "I'm going to be a mom" she laughed as they watched her in amazement. "I'm actually going to be a mom".

"And you've only just realised?" Lanie asked as Kate laughed and shook her head.


	26. Chapter 26

"You literally look like you're about to pop sweetheart" Jim laughed as he entered the apartment to see his daughter lying across the couch while her head ran across her heavily pregnant bump, laughing at her father's comment as she nodded in agreement. Her due date was two days ago and she was starting to get inpatient! She wanted her baby and she wanted him now! "I still can't believe that you'll be a mom soon" he laughed as she nodded in agreement and looked down at where her hands were resting. "Don't worry you were almost a week after your due date Katie".

"I could be pregnant for another week? I don't want to be pregnant for another week, I want to have my baby now" she moaned in shock as Jim laughed and watched her for a moment. "I wish Rick was here" she whispered, relaxing back as her father nodded slowly. He knew Kate missed him, even if he was gone for a couple of hours to have a meeting with his publisher. "What if I go into labour and he can't get out because he's in a stupid meeting?" she moaned as Jim laughed and moved towards his daughter to press a kiss to her forehead before smiling down at her as she shut her eyes for a moment.

"Kate, he'll be home before you know it and if you go into labour, he'll be there. I don't want to see anyone who tries to stop Rick from being there" he admitted as Kate laughed and nodded, sitting up slowly to tightly wrap her arms around her father for a moment. "And Alexis is in school today?" he asked as she nodded and sighed. "And Martha?" he questioned.

"Rehearsals" she admitted as she groaned and relaxed back. "Don't you have to go to work soon daddy?" Kate asked quickly as her father nodded and sighed when she grabbed his hand. "I don't want to be on my own, Rick's not going to be back for another hour and a half" she sighed as her father stood up before helping her off the couch as she laughed.

"Sweetheart you know I'd love to stay but I can't, I've got a lot of work to do and I'm sure you can find something to do for an hour and a half" Jim smiled as she nodded and watched as he quickly pulled his jacket on and stared at her for a moment. "Why don't you come with me downstairs?" he asked.

"Of course I'm coming downstairs with you dad, I'm not just going to sit on the couch until my waters break and someone drives me to the hospital, I need to keep doing things or I'll go crazy" she stated as he nodded and wrapped an arm around hers as she laughed and began to walk out of the apartment with him in silence.

"Any names yet?" he asked.

"None for certain but we'll choose when the baby is here, both Rick and I have ideas and we'll plan names when we're finding holding our son" she admitted as they entered the elevator together and stood in silence for a moment. "Is it really as amazing as it sounds dad? Holding your baby for the first time?" she asked quickly as he nodded and smiled at her for a moment.

"It's the most amazing feeling in the world, seeing this tiny little human being for the first time who is completely yours and the person you love's" Jim admitted as she smiled and nodded, already excited at the idea. "And it gets better as you watch them grow up and turn into children and then teenagers, which is always the hardest part, and finally as an adult when they make their own families" Jim explained as Kate smiled and cuddled into her father's side. "I'm so proud of you and so would your mom be Katie, she would be so proud of you making a little home and family of your own" he admitted as she smiled weakly and kept her hand on her bump for a moment. "She always said that you'd be a good mom" he whispered before they walked out together and slowly left the building together in silence. "Right, you can call me if you're really bored but do something Katie, even if it's just reading a book" he ordered as she nodded and kissed his cheek. "Be nice to your mother" he declared as he stared down at her bump while she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck for a moment.

"Thanks for coming daddy, it's always nice to see you" Kate whispered as he nodded and kissed her cheek again before saying goodbye and walking away as she wrapped her arms around herself. Hearing a loud bang down the alley beside the apartment, Kate quickly turned as she sighed as she looked down at her bump. Slowly walking towards the alley, Kate kept her hand on her stomach for a moment as she entered the alley. Why was she doing this? Why did she always go and look when something sounded suspicious? "Hello?" she called out, groaning when something hard hit the back of her head and the world started to go dark.

XOXOOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Kate I'm home and I brought cake" he called out before falling silent, listening for response but not hearing anything. "Kate? You awake?" he asked as he walked towards the main bedroom to find it empty as well as the en-suite. "Kate?" he called out again. Where the hell was she? He knew Jim had planned to come and visit so he might have taken her out to lunch as everyone knew Kate was starting to get fed up. Grabbing the phone quickly, Rick sighed as he quickly dialled Jim's work number before the older man answered.

"Hello?" Jim asked.

"Jim, did you take Kate out or something?" Rick panicked as the man fell silent. "She's not home and I don't know where else she would go as everyone's working" he explained as he sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. She was heavily pregnant; she couldn't just disappear into thin air like this! Someone had to have seen her!

"Rick when I left her she was outside the apartment, she was about to go inside and read a book or something. She didn't have a proper coat on or shoes on, she can't have just gone out shopping or anything" Jim explained as Rick looked across for a moment. "Where's my daughter Rick?" he asked as Rick shook his head slowly. They couldn't have taken her! They couldn't have taken her without anyone seeing it happen!

"I don't know Jim, I'm going to call Javi and get the police on it. We're going to find her Jim, they'll find her before we know it" he admitted as Jim nodded and said goodbye before the writer put the phone down and began to dial the number for Javier.

"Esposito" Javier answered quickly.

"They've got Kate" was the only thing that Rick could say as he stared at his apartment, just wanting his wife home.

XOXOXOOXXOOX

Groaning as she slowly began to open her eyes, Kate attempted to move her hand to the back of her head, which was throbbing, only to find that it was restricted by the handcuff that was locking it to the radiator. Looking around her for any clue, Kate felt the tears run down her cheeks as she realised what had happened. Her need for knowledge and to look into anything suspicious, had put her baby in danger! Why did she have to do this every time? Leaning back against the wall, Kate quickly shut her eyes as she felt a twinge of pain run through her abdomen before she felt something run down her leg slowly.

"Oh god no, please not now" Kate mumbled as she quickly stared down at her stomach in silence. "Please not now baby, please not now" she whispered as an increase of tears began to run down her cheeks as she realised what was going on! She was going into labour!

**This is a very short chapter but I hope you enjoy it. **

**I also have a question to ask everyone- where do you want this story to end? After the baby's born, into the future or **s**omewhere else? Also I was wondering whether you'd like this one to be the last in the Coffee series or would you like another story about them living with the baby or has Coffee started to bore you all? I would really like to know what you personally think! **


	27. Chapter 27

"There has to be something, you have to know where she is. She can't just disappear like this, there has to be something out there" Rick shouted as he stood in the precinct and glared across at the cops before Javier walked towards him and rested his hand on the writer's shoulder for a moment. "She's past her due date, she's going to have the baby any day now and I'm not going to miss her giving birth and I'm not going to let anyone risk my baby or Kate" he whispered as the cop nodded, understanding how much Rick wanted her to be home. They all knew that Kate could give birth any minute and they all wanted her home, every single person in this precinct wanted her home because they all loved and respected her.

"Get yourself a coffee and calm down, let us do our job Rick" Javier ordered as he nodded slowly and began to walk towards the break room in silence. He wanted his wife home! He wanted to hold her close and keep her safe before they ran into the delivery room for her to give birth to their son. He wanted to hold her hand while she gave birth to their child and he didn't want to risk anything happening to his wife and son. Entering the coffee room slowly, Javier sighed as he watched the writer for a moment as he began to pour a mug of coffee before sitting down on the couch and shutting his eyes for a second. "She'll be home before you know it Rick, they'll both be fine" he promised as Rick nodded slowly.

"They want to kill her, they won't think twice about killing both her and the baby. They want her gone and it won't stop until they're dead or she's dead" he whispered as the cop sat down beside him for a moment and sighed. "She didn't want me to go to my meeting this morning, she didn't want to be on her own because she was scared something would happen" Rick admitted as he stared down at his wedding ring for a moment. "Of course she thought the baby would come and I wouldn't be able to make it but instead they've taken them" he whispered before taking a sip of the warm liquid. "I haven't had a coffee since we found out that Kate was pregnant" he laughed into the liquid.

"I don't think I could ever give it up for Lanie if that happened to us one day" Javier stated as the writer shook his head slowly.

"It's amazing what you do for the people you love" Rick stated as he attempted to relax back into the couch as Kevin entered the precinct while Martha and Alexis followed him in silence. Watching as his daughter ran over to him, Rick sighed as he quickly pulled her into his arms before burying his face into her hair. "She'll be home soon sweetheart" he promised as he heard Alexis begin to sob. "I don't want to imagine what the people who took mommy are going to look like when she gets angry at them! No one takes her away from her family baby, you know that" he whispered as she nodded slowly, still not removing her face from his chest.

"How long has she been gone now Richard?" Martha asked as Kevin passed her a mug of coffee and sent her a sad smile.

"No one's seen her in eleven hours, Jim was the last person to see her" Kevin explained as he looked across at the writer who was still holding his daughter close to him while his fingers played with her hair. "We're looking everywhere, we're searching everywhere in the surrounding area and talking to everyone in the apartment building. Someone will have seen something, even if they don't know it yet" he promised as Martha nodded and thanked him, her voice almost silent as she thought about everything. This was her daughter in law! Her beautiful heavily pregnant daughter in law was gone and they all knew that the person who'd taken her was trying to kill her. They wanted to kill her and they now had her!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Relaxing back against the wall quickly, Kate groaned as she let out another breath as she felt another contraction run through her body. This was starting to hurt more than normal and the contractions were getting closer and closer together and all she wanted was for Rick to be cuddled up beside her; telling her that everything was going to be okay before relaxing her.

"Please baby, just stay in there for a little longer" she sobbed as she kept her hand on her stomach and shut her eyes. Why did this have to happen to her? "Why don't you come here you bastards?" she screamed as she attempted not to cry. She wouldn't let them see her cry. These people weren't going to make her weak and she wasn't going to give up! Her son wanted to come into the world and no one was going to hurt her baby. "Why don't you just come out here and tell me what you want you bastards? Why do you need to hide anymore? Why don't you just come out here and tell me what exactly is going on because honestly, what the hell am I going to do to you?" she shouted before groaning again. Why was this going so fast? Why did her baby want to come so quickly? Hearing a door creak open, Kate watched as someone began to walk towards her as she continued to watch in silence. They weren't going to win because they'd find her, her friends would find her!

"Hello Katherine" he stated as she bit into her lip, trying to hold in the groan that wanted to escape her lips at the contraction that was starting to hit her.

XOOXXOXOXOXOX

"You should take her home, she's exhausted Richard and there's nothing you can do here. We're not going to stop until we find her and we'll call the moment we find anything" Montgomery stated as they stood outside the break room together; looking into the room to see Alexis lying across the couch with Rick's jacket thrown across her as a makeshift blanket.

"I'm not leaving until Kate's home; she'll want me there when we find her. I need to be there when she's found, she's my wife" he stated as the captain nodded slowly and watched as Rick entered the break room and knelt down beside his daughter for a moment; his fingers brushing stray hair away from her face before pressing a kiss to her cheek as she yawned. "Why don't you get some sleep pumpkin?" he asked as she shook her head and stared at him for a moment.

"I want mommy back daddy" she admitted as he shut his eyes for a second. "I want mommy to kiss me goodnight like every night" she sobbed as Rick leant forward and kissed her forehead gently. Why couldn't this be over? They weren't investigating her mother's case so why couldn't they just go away and let them life their lives? They were married, they were going to have a baby together and all they'd wanted the first threat was to be left alone. "Are mommy and the baby going to be okay daddy?" she whispered as he stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"They're going to be perfectly fine sweetheart, you know you're mom, she won't let anyone hurt them" he promised, hoping that everything he was telling her was true. "Now try and get some sleep sweetheart, for all you know mommy might be back by the time you wake up" he whispered as she smiled and shut her eyes quickly, hoping that the next time she opened her eyes Kate would be back with her stories and her cuddles.

XOOXOXOXOXXO

"I am not having you until your daddy gets here so stop trying to make me give birth" Kate ordered as she stared at her stomach and groaned. "He's going to be here baby, he's going to find us and he's going to be here when you're born. I'm not having you until he's here so you stay in there and wait" she warned as she stared up at the ceiling as ran her only free hand to her stomach. Her other hand was practically dead, the handcuff around her wrist digging into the skin every time she attempted to force it out of the metal restraint. Screaming as the pain got worse; Kate felt the tears increase as she just watched her for a moment. "Your daddy is an amazing man and he's going to find us" the brunette sobbed as she kept her hand on her stomach. "He always finds me, no matter where I am. He loves us so much and he'll never give up on us. He won't stop until we're home again" she mumbled, trying to keep her courage up as she looked across at the empty room. She'd been alone since the man had left her with a small smirk covering his face. He hadn't believed her when she told him she hadn't touched her mother's case and that all she wanted was to go home and be a mom to her children. He'd told her his plans. He told her how he was going to kill her once her 'disgusting brat' was out of her body and was able to leave her. "I love you baby, I'm always going to love you and if anything ever happens to me, I'm always going to be here whether you cans see me or not" she whispered as she stared at her bump in tears. "Daddy's going to look after you baby, he's going to make sure that nothing ever hurts you even if I'm not there to protect you" she sobbed, even though she desperately wanted to be there to watch her son grow up. She wanted to be a mommy more than anything in the world!

**Another short chapter but I hope you enjoy this and are excited about the next chapter. Things will begin to be answered in the next chapter, I promise and baby Castle will make his entrance. I hopefully will have the next chapter up tomorrow if it's wanted and thank you for the amazing response; it really does improve my confidence to hear from you all and I hope to hear from you again. **


	28. Chapter 28

"Where are you going? Why are you leaving? You're supposed to be looking for my wife" Rick almost screamed across the precinct as he ran out of the precinct and stared at the collection of cops who were slowly moving into the elevator and down the stairs. "You can't just go, you need to find Kate" he ordered as Javier turned to look at him before approaching the writer and staring at him for a moment in silence. "Why are they leaving? Why are they leaving when they should be looking for my wife? Remember, she's a cop and your friend and heavily pregnant" Kate declared as she watched for a moment.

"Rick" Javier began as he watched his friend for a moment. "We have around four locations that we believe Kate can be and we're going to go and look around, see if we can find her or any evidence of where she might be" he explained as Rick nodded slowly and wrapped his arms around his body. "We'll call you if we find anything" he promised.

"I should be there if you find her, she'll need me in case anything has happened with the baby or if she's hurt" Rick whispered as the cop sighed and began to walk towards the elevator. "Javi, I need to be there, she's going to need me there" he begged as Javier turned to look at him before he entered the metal box.

"If we find her Rick, we'll call you and you can come down but until then you stay here with your daughter" he ordered as Rick glared at him for a moment, understanding that he couldn't come with them even if he wanted to find his wife and be there the moment they found her. Watching as Javier disappeared into the lift, Rick sighed as he turned slowly to look across the practically empty precinct before approaching Kate's desk and sitting down in her chair, a small smile covering his face as he looked across at the photo that decorated her desk. Kate was beaming in the image while Rick had his arm tightly wrapped around her as Alexis was smiling beside them both.

"Come home Kate" he whispered as he reached out and took hold of the photograph before sighing as he stared at it for a moment. His beautiful wife! Opening her desk drawer, Rick smiled as the collection of sonograms photos that were filling the drawer. She'd kept her family close even when they weren't with her. "God I want you to come home" he mumbled, jumping slightly when he felt someone touch his shoulder. Turning his head slowly, Rick sighed as he found his daughter staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"She's not back yet, is she daddy?" she whispered as Rick shook his head and tightly wrapped his arms around the redhead, lifting her onto his lap as she began to sob again. "I want mommy to come home now, she needs to come home now" she sobbed as Rick nodded in agreement before burying his face into her hair. He wanted his daughter to stop crying, he wanted his wife to hold her close and stop her from crying like she always managed to do. "Why do people want to hurt mommy?" she asked.

"Because I started looking into her mom's case and someone didn't want us to find out who they were" he explained as Kate nodded slowly and sighed, not knowing what else to do. "Sweetheart why don't you try and get some more sleep?" he asked as she watched him for a moment before burying her face into the crook of his neck and shutting her eyes. "I didn't exactly mean on me sweetheart but if you want too, you can" he laughed gently before kissing her and wrapping his arms around her.

XOOXOXOXXOXO

"There's no one in here" Javier stated as he walked out of the warehouse and remained close to her for a moment. Hearing a loud scream, both men turned to look towards an old house that was down the road from the warehouse. "You don't think?" he whispered as Kevin shrugged before they both ran towards the building. Moving to open the door, Kevin groaned as he found it locked shut. Kicking it quickly, Javier groaned as the door quickly opened. "That was hard" Javier moaned before they entered the building quietly, their hands holding onto their guns tightly as they continued to hear someone screaming down the corridor. It was clearly a woman! Moving as the screams began to get louder; Javier slowly pushed the door open and held the gun out in front of him before he heard a louder scream.

"Javi?" Kevin whispered as he nodded and turned to check the room before running further through the corridor before pushing up the final door to see Kate handcuffed to the radiator with her knees bent and her head relaxing back against the wall as she continued to scream before puffing gently and groaning.

"Kate" Javier smiled as he knelt down beside her and watched as she stared at him for a moment before groaning again. "Where are the people who took you Kate? Are they still here or have they gone?" he whispered as he brushed the stray hair away from her face for a moment as she stared at him.

"They're still in the building" she gasped as Javi moved his hand so she could take hold of it as she stared up at him. "Please don't leave, please don't leave me. I don't want to be on my own again" she begged as he stared at her for a moment before turning his head to look at his partner who nodded and held his gun out in front of him before walking off into another room just as back up began to enter the room and follow him. "Where's Rick?" she gasped as she attempted to stop herself from screaming at the next contraction. "I need Rick here Javi, this baby is coming in any minute and he has to be here for when the baby's born" she sobbed as tears continued to run down her cheeks as he nodded and leant down to grab the phone from his pocket.

"He'll be here in twenty minutes Kate, I promise, just hold on for twenty minutes" he begged as she stared at him with tears in her eyes. "We can't get the paramedics in until the building's clear" he mumbled as she rested her head back against the wall and groaned again, her tears increasing as the cop dialled the number for the precinct, hoping desperately that he could get the writer here before the baby was born. "How long have you been in labour for?" he whispered as she stared up at him in silence for a moment.

"Since the moment I got here Javi" she commented as he nodded. "They were going to kill me Javi, they were going to kill me when the baby was born" she sobbed as he wrapped an arm around her and cuddled her as she continued to cry. "They were going to take him away from me, they were going to just take him and kill me".

"Kate, they're not going to hurt you now" he promised before putting the phone to his ear and pressing a kiss to her cheek as she gasped and leant forward slightly. "Kate?" he asked as the phone continued to ring.

"Javi, I have to push so badly" she admitted as he felt the shock cover his face. "Javi I really need to push right now" she sobbed as the tears began to run down her cheeks. "I'm having this baby now and it's not stopping" she stated as the phone stop ringing down the line.

"Hello?" Rick asked after a few moments, his voice full of panic as he waited for a response.

"Get your ass down here writer man, your wife is having a baby right now and there's no stopping this baby anymore" Javier declared as Kate began to scream again, her hand clutching onto Javier's as she began to push; unable to stop herself anymore. "Rick she's breaking my hand, get down here" Javier moaned before dropping the phone and watching as she relaxed back against the wall for the first time.

XOXOOXOXOXXO

Climbing out of the car, Rick quickly ran towards the building before being stopped by a uniform who stared at him for a moment. Opening his mouth to shout, Rick fell silent as the sound of three shots ran through the street from within the building. Watching as the uniform turned to look away from him, Rick quickly ran out of the barrier before running into the building as the uniform began to scream at him.

"Kate?" Rick called out as he heard someone screaming down the corridor. Running towards the scream, Rick stopped as he entered the room to see Javier sat behind his wife as she continued to scream, her knees bent as she relaxed back against the cop. "Hey beautiful" Rick smiled as she looked up at him and smiled for a moment before screaming again, her body leaning forward as she began to push for a moment. "Where's the paramedic? She needs a doctor or at least someone with medical knowledge" he asked as he knelt down beside her and found her hand as she began to squeeze his tightly, not knowing what else to do.

"They can't come in, the building's not secure yet" Javier admitted as Rick remembered the shots that had been fired only moments earlier. "I need to find Kevin, he went looking for the bastards with some other cops and I don't know who shot who yet" he explained as Rick nodded and watched as the cop stood up and smiled down at Kate who was relaxing back against the wall, attempting desperately to catch her breath.

"How are you feeling?" Rick whispered as he pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead while she glared across at him before groaning. "You're both going to be fine sweetheart" he promised as she shook her head and felt the tears run down her cheeks. "Do you need to push again?" he asked as she nodded again before groaning. "Just push baby".

"But what if something goes wrong? What if I hurt the baby Rick? I need someone here who knows what's going on so I know that our baby's going to be okay" she sobbed as he smiled at her before kissing her quickly.

"You're going to say no to this but it's our only option" he declared as she watched him. "I'll deliver our baby Kate" he stated as she watched him for a moment as she attempted not to scream in pain.

"Are you joking?" she asked, knowing deep down that she had no other option.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"There through here" Kevin explained as he led the paramedics through the building, amazed by how quiet it was. They'd caught two of the people who had taken Kate and although they were obviously lower in the chain of command they were starting to talk and give names while seated in the back of the car with Javier and another cop. Pushing the door open that led to where they'd found Kate earlier, Kevin felt the smile grow on his face as he stared at the image in front of him. Kate was relaxing back against the radiator, her face red from exhaustion as she held a screaming baby against her wrapped in Rick's shirt while the bare chested writer continued to beam proudly. "I brought the key for the handcuffs" he admitted as Kate smiled and nodded, staring up at her hand that was attached to the radiator.

"Thanks" Kate whispered as Kevin passed the key to the writer who undid it and watched as Kate moved her hand to the small baby's face before leaning down to kiss his forehead as she smiled at her crying child. "Hey Alexander" she whispered as confusion covered the writer's face.

"Alexander?" he asked as she nodded and allowed the paramedics to lift the baby out of her arms for a moment to check him over. "You want to name him Alexander?" he questioned as she nodded again before leaning across to press a kiss to the writer's cheek as she relaxed back and watched as the paramedic continued to check her son.

"Alexis suggested it and I love the idea, Alexander Castle, named after his daddy but not so much that we get confused when I shout it to stop him from doing something silly" she explained as she held her arms out for her son again. "He's fine, give him back to me" she begged as the paramedic watched her for a moment. "Give him back to me now" she declared, shocking the writer with how desperate she sounded as the paramedic retuned the baby to Kate before standing for a moment.

"We're going to take you both to hospital, have you both checked over and then you can go home" the paramedic explained as Kate nodded slowly and allowed Rick to take Alex from her for a moment as she moved to sit on the stretcher before holding her arms out for the baby again. Staring down at her son in am amazement, Kate felt the tears run down her cheeks as she relaxed and pressed a kiss to the Alex's forehead for a moment.

"I love you baby" she whispered as Rick watched her proudly for a moment, unable to stop himself from leaning down to press a kiss into her hair. "I love you Alexander, I love you so much you beautiful baby and no one is ever going to hurt you" she promised before she was pushed out of the building to see cops and the press surrounding them as the cameras began to flash at them and their names were shouted. Getting pushed into the waiting ambulance, Kate sighed as her son began to cry against her as the writer watched in silence. "He's here Rick, our baby is actually here" she admitted as she began to laugh before sighing and relaxing.

"Hello baby" Rick beamed before leaning down to press a kiss to Alex' small forehead. "He's perfect Kate, he's actually perfect" he whispered, unable to take his eyes off her as the ambulance began to move.

**So what do you think? I'm not happy with it but I want to know what you think, if you don't enjoy it then it's bye bye chapter and I'll rewrite it but I love knowing what you think! I think in a couple of chapters I'll start the new story which will be the whole journey of Kate as a mother with Alexander in his first year probably and also there will be some more of the Johanna case to end it finally **


	29. Chapter 29

"You are perfectly wonderful little one" Kate smiled as she leant down and pressed a kiss to her son's bare stomach before buttoning up the rest of his blue and white stripped baby grow and lifting him into her arms before sitting back down on the hospital bed and relaxing while she cuddled him close to her. "Has your daddy disappeared sweetheart?" she laughed as she continued to watch him, unable to stop herself from smiling as her baby looked up at her with his father's eyes. She knew Rick hadn't disappeared; instead he had gone to meet Jim who was supposed to be arriving downstairs in order to take them back to the apartment. They'd been given the all clear and Kate couldn't wait to get home and introduce Alexis to her baby brother. "I love you for having your daddy's beautiful eyes" she whispered as she leant down and pressed a kiss to his head before laying him in between her legs and giggling in amazement. Twenty years old and she was a mommy to two wonderful children! Hearing the door creak open, Kate turned to see the writer standing in the doorway with a proud smile covering his face while Jim Beckett stood nervously behind him. "Hey daddy" she smiled as he nodded and slowly entered the room.

"Hello Katie" he whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair before staring down at the baby who was lying in between his daughter's legs in silence. "He's wonderful Kate, he's absolutely beautiful" Jim smiled as Kate nodded and smiled down at her son before running her fingers across his stomach as Rick moved to sit on the end of the bed to watch the interaction between mother and son. "So what's my grandson called?" he asked.

"AJ" Rick and Kate both stated as confusion covered the older man's face while the younger adults laughed.

"Alexander James" Rick explained as Jim watched Kate lift the baby into her arms before lying back against the headboard for a moment. "But AJ is easier to say, especially seeing that Alex is too similar to Alexis" he admitted as Kate nodded in agreement and gently pressed a kiss to her son's forehead. "Are you ready to go Kate?" he asked as she nodded and stood up, holding her son against her as she relaxed and watched Rick smile at her gently. "I love this image" he admitted as she stared at him for a moment, her smile growing as she looked down at the small baby that she was holding in her arms. "I could get used to seeing you with a baby" he sighed.

"Well I do plan on having more in the future, but give me a while to get over this one and to spend time with my beautiful baby born and then we can think about Baby Castle number three" she admitted as she continued to cradle him to her chest. "Let's go home and introduce you to your wonderful sister, I'm sure she'll be excited about meeting you finally" she whispered to the small boy as she followed the writer and her father down the corridor.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Welcome home" Martha smiled as she pressed a kiss to Kate's cheek before looking down at the small baby in her arms. "Can I hold the little darling?" she asked quickly, her excitement obvious as Kate slowly moved AJ out of her arms and into Martha's; the older woman's smile growing as she stared down at her grandson in amazement. "Oh he's so beautiful and he's got Richard's eyes. Oh Kate he's absolutely wonderful" Martha smiled proudly as Kate nodded and wrapped her arms around herself before sighing, laughing the moment Alexis ran over and tightly wrapped her arms around the brunette.

"Hey baby" Kate smiled as she held her daughter close to her while Alexis shook her head. "Why are you shaking your head at me?" the brunette asked as the redhead looked up at her and smiled.

"I'm not a baby anymore mommy, I'm a big sister now" Alexis explained as Kate nodded and ran her fingers through the girl's hair slowly before sighing. "Can I hold him yet?" she asked as Kate laughed and nodded, her arms taking AJ back from Martha before she moved to sit on the couch. Following her silently, Alexis slowly sat down beside her mother before Kate gently moved her son into her daughter's arms.

"Support his head Lex" Kate whispered as she kept a hand under Alexander's head before smiling as Alexis watched her brother in amazement. "Lex, this is Alexander James" she explained as Alexis nodded slowly before Kate pressed a kiss into her hair. "We call him AJ for short though sweetheart" Kate added as Alexis giggled and leant down to gently press a kiss to her brother's forehead.

"Hello AJ, I'm your big sister Alexis and I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever, I'm going to teach you so much" the redhead promised as Kate smiled at her daughter, knowing that Alexis was completely in love with the baby even if this was the first time that she'd met him properly. "I love you AJ" she whispered as Kate smiled and gently turned around to see Rick watching her beside Martha while proud smiles covered their faces. Hearing the baby start to scream, Kate quickly looked back down to see her son screaming while fear covered Alexis' face.

"I didn't do anything, I promise mommy, he just started screaming" Alexis said, her voice full of panic as Kate laughed and nodded, lifting her son slowly before standing and humming gently.

"I'm going to go and feed him, I think he's hungry" Kate whispered as Rick nodded and watched as she snuck off towards Alexander's nursery while Martha smiled across at her daughter in law. Turning to look at her son after Kate had disappeared from sight, Martha smiled as she gently pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning to look at her granddaughter who was staring at them from her seat on the couch.

"Sweetheart why don't we go and buy something for dinner for everyone?" Martha suggested as Rick smiled at her, knowing that his mother was trying to give him a moment alone with his wife and new born son. Nodding slowly, Alexis quickly stood up and grabbed her coat before hugging her father and taking hold of her grandmother's hand. "Chinese okay?" she asked as Rick nodded again before his mother held her hand out.

"What?" he asked.

"Credit card darling" Martha stated as the writer laughed and dug into his jeans pocket before passing the card to his mother and sighing as the older redhead began to lead her granddaughter out of the apartment. Closing the door behind them, Rick slowly began to approach his bedroom; smiling when he heard Kate's light singing voice from within the nursery as he walked through the bedroom and pushed the door open.

"I thought I heard someone singing" he smiled as he looked across to see his wife sat in the rocking chair they'd bought while their son rested against her breast. "Mother and Alexis have gone out to buy Chinese for dinner, they'll bring you back lots of food of course because of you being gone for so long and they probably didn't feed you enough" he explained as she nodded, not wanting to disturb their son as he continued to suckle.

"Hopefully they've found out some more out and we can end this" she explained as he nodded and pressed a kiss into her hair before looking down at his son. "He's a hungry little monkey, he must take after his daddy" she giggled as her fingers brushed across his head before she relaxed and shut her eyes for a brief moment. "Like father like son" she commented, laughing when AJ moved away from her. "Can you?" she asked quietly as he nodded and took him from her as she began to sort her clothes out. Burping their son slowly, Rick smiled as he found the brunette watching him, pride covering her face as she took in the sight of her husband with their tiny baby pressed against him. "I love you Rick" she whispered.

"I love you too mommy" he admitted as she kissed him gently and took hold of him, unable to stop herself from smiling as the writer walked towards the crib and rested their son in his bed before smiling across at her as she stood up and walked towards him, his arm wrapping around her as they both watched their son for a moment. "He's perfect isn't he?" he smiled as Kate stared up at him for a moment.

"He's better than I could have ever imagined and he's completely ours" Kate said happily before running her fingers across her son's cheek. "How much sleep do you think we'll get tonight?" she asked as he shrugged and pressed a kiss to her temple gently.

"I don't know sweetheart" he admitted before holding her close. "But I'll help you, I'll support you through his one hundred per cent Kate because we're in this together" he smiled as she relaxed back against him before sighing. "Thank you" he whispered into her hair as confusion covered her face.

"For what?" she questioned.

"For making my family bigger, for loving me and Alexis, for just being my extraordinary wife" he began as she turned in his arms and kissed him gently before smiling against his lips.

"Always Rick" she muttered before lacing her fingers with his, falling in love with him more than ever as they stood beside their sleeping son.

**This was a pitifully short chapter and I also am sad to say but this is the last chapter of Coffee and the Unknown. However, I will be starting a new story about the whole family from probably the following day to this chapter but I thought this would be a nice place to end this particular area of their lives. **

**Thank you for being so wonderfully and giving me the fantastic reviews and comments along with all the favourites and alerts this has been given. You've made writing this story much more interesting and I can't wait to see what you think about this last chapter and also about the story continuing. Hopefully I'll see you with the next story! **

**Many thanks **

**Jessie **


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